Back to Kisatchie National Forest -- Grant Parish, 5/27/2019

Bachman's Sparrow on Stuart Lake Road

Related Posts:
   many of the same locations on May 18, 2019:
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2019/05/kisatchie-national-forest-in-grant.html

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   On May 27 I birded along several roads in the Kisatchie National Forest Catahoula Ranger District in Grant Parish. The first three locations I birded were in the area south of LA-8 west of Pollock (Stuart Lake Road, Forest Service Road 146, and Work Center Road). After that I headed east to two roads in the National Forest east of Fishville (National Forest Road 197 and Hardwater Lake Cutoff).
   I began by birding Stuart Lake Road from the east end, driving southwest to the junction with FS 146, with many stops and several short walks along the road.

Glenn Emory Trail where it crosses Stuart Lake Road

Stuart Lake Rd at Glenn Emory Trail crossing

Stuart Lake Rd

...

Stuart Lake Rd at FS Rd 123

The woods were ringing with birdsong. Its always a treat to hear Bachman's Sparrow - three were singing this morning - and I was lucky enough to see two of the them.

 (video: singing Bachman's Sparrows - one on screen, one can be heard in the background)

Bachman's Sparrow - Stuart Lake Rd

Bachman's Sparrow

Hooded, Kentucky, Prairie, and Pine Warblers were singing, as were Indigo Bunting and Yellow-breasted Chat. From a respectful distance I watched the active Red-cockaded Woodpecker nest hole where I saw the bird on 5/18.  This day, there was at least one nestling calling from inside, and an adult was seen bringing food to the nest and foraging on nearby pines.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker foraging - 5/27

adult Red-cockaded Woodpecker feeding young in nest - 5/27

   Further along, between where FS Rd 123 turns south off Stuart Lake Rd and FS Rd 146 turns north, I stopped at a small unmarked road that goes south form Stuart Lake Rd. I walked about a quarter mile down there. Birds were mostly more of the same, but I picked up a couple of new species for my dragonfly life list - Gray Petaltail and Arrowhead Spiketail.

down the side road south of Stuart Lake Rd

   Where Stuart Lake Road crosses two small streams on either side of FS Rd 146 I found several skippers - Little Glassywings, Southern Broken-Dashes, and Common/White Checkered-Skipper. These butterflies were nectaring on black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia).

Stuart Lake Rd at gully east of FS Rd 146

   It was the noon hour by the time I headed north up FS Rd 146 and FS Rd 147 (Work Center Rd) and bird activity was starting to slack off.

FS Rd 146

FS Rd 146

Work Center Rd / butterfly garden parking lot

Still, the Eastern Meadowlark was singing, as were Pine, Prairie, and Hooded Warblers, Orchard Orioles, and Chipping Sparrows. I birded on foot at the Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden, where I saw three Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in the pine woods beside the garden, and at the ranger station before leaving Work Center Road.

Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden

out front of the district ranger station

Chipping Sparrow - ranger station

female Red-bellied Woodpecker - district ranger station

   After leaving this area west of Pollock, I headed to part of the Kisatchie NF east of Fishville.
   Below is the list for birds seen in these three western locations. After that will be the birds from the eastern area, as well as lists of some of the other wildlife (and wildflowers) seen throughout the day.

Stuart Lake Road:
9:01 a.m.; 3 hrs 33 mins; 3.25 miles
78 - 80 Fahrenheit; sky variable; calm at start, then breeze

FS Rd 146:
12:36 p.m.; 20 minutes; 0.9 miles
81 F.; mixed/variable sky; breeze

Hummingbird Garden & Work Center Rd:
12:56 p.m.; 1 hr 56 mins; 0.9 miles
80 - 82 F.; variable/sunny sky; breeze

Mourning Dove - 1, 0, 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 3, 0, 0
Chimney Swift - 0, 0, 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1, 0, 3
Black Vulture - 3, 0, 0
Turkey Vulture - 1, 0, 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0, 0, 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1, 0, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3, 2, 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2, 0, 1
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - 2, 0, 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 1, 0, 0
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1, 0, 3
Acadian Flycatcher - 1, 0, 0
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2, 0, 0
Eastern Kingbird - 0, 2, 1
White-eyed Vireo - 11, 1, 2
Red-eyed Vireo - 6, 0, 1
Blue Jay - 7, 0, 1
American Crow - 5, 1, 1
Purple Martin - 1, 1, 0
Carolina Chickadee - 4, 1, 1
Tufted Titmouse - 6, 1, 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 5, 1, 3
Carolina Wren - 10, 3, 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2, 1, 0
Eastern Bluebird - 0, 1, 3

female Eastern Bluebird bringing food to nest at butterfly garden parking lot

Gray Catbird - 0, 0, 1

Gray Catbird - butterfly garden

Brown Thrasher - 1, 0, 2
Northern Mockingbird - 0, 3, 2
Bachman's Sparrow - 3, 0, 0
Chipping Sparrow - 0, 1, 3
Eastern Towhee - 4, 0, 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 6, 3, 2
Eastern Meadowlark - 0, 1, 0
Orchard Oriole - 0, 1, 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 0, 0, 1
Kentucky Warbler - 3, 0, 0
Common Yellowthroat - 0, 1, 0
Hooded Warbler - 16, 1, 1
Pine Warbler - 29, 3, 1
Prairie Warbler - 4, 0, 3
Summer Tanager - 2, 0, 0
Northern Cardinal - 14, 3, 2
Blue Grosbeak - 1, 2, 0
Indigo Bunting - 10, 2, 3

   After birding these areas west of Pollock, I headed to some additional Kisatchie National Forest locations situated off Hardwater Lake Road east of Fishville.
   National Forest Road 197 runs north from Hardwater Lake Road 1.2 miles to end at the edge of the hardwood creek bottoms along Big Creek. The Big Creek Campground (such as it is) is just before the end of the road. The flood waters that have the Little River - Catahoula Lake system so backed up had the Big Creek bottoms flooded, with the water literally up to the edge of the turn-around at the end of the road.

turn-around at north end of road / flooded Big Creek woods

Most of the habitat along 197, though, is hilly pine woods in various stages of growth.

NF Rd 197

197

197

   Most of the birds were more of the typical piney woods sorts - Hooded and Pine Warblers, Tufted Titmouse, etc. - but the swampy forest at the end also provided Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, and Acadian Flycatcher.

Pearl Crescents on Rudbeckia - NF Rd 197

   After that, I made one more birding attempt, going the length of Hardwater Lake Cutoff, from Hardwater Lake Road south to Perry Loop (0.8 miles). The habitat here is also hilly pine woods.

Hardwater Lake Cutoff

HL Cutoff

At the north end of HL Cutoff I heard a Swainson's Warbler and a Black-and-white Warbler singing.

Swainson's Warbler was singing in here

Black-and-white Warbler was singing just down the road there

FS Rd 197:
2:37 p.m.; 54 mins; 1.2 miles
84 - 89 F.; variable/ mostly sunny sky; breeze

Hardwater Lake Cutoff:
3:32 p.m; 20 mins; 0.8 miles
89 - 86 F.; sky variable/ mostly sunny; breeze

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2, 0
Chimney Swift - 1, 0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2, 0
Acadian Flycatcher - 1, 0
Great Crested Flycatcher - 1, 0
White-eyed Vireo - 6, 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 3, 0
Blue Jay - 2, 1
American Crow - 1, 1
Carolina Chickadee - 0, 4
Tufted Titmouse - 5, 2

Tufted Titmouse - NF Rd 197

Carolina Wren - 2, 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2, 0
Eastern Towhee - 0, 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 2, 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 0, 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 1, 0
Swainson's Warbler - 0, 1
Hooded Warbler - 9, 4
Northern Parula - 2, 0
Pine Warbler - 4, 6

male Pine Warbler - NF Rd 197

Summer Tanager - 4, 1
Northern Cardinal - 9, 3
Indigo Bunting - 2, 0

Mammals: Eastern Fox Squirrel, Coyote

Herps:
Fowler's Toad, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green (Bronze) Frog; Prairie Lizard, Speckled Kingsnake, Cottonmouth

Cottonmouth - gully on Stuart Lake Rd by south end of FS Rd 146

Fish: Western Mosquitofish (gully on Stuart Lake Rd just past FS Rd 146)

Butterflies:
Common/White Checkered-Skipper -
Tropical Checkered-Skipper -

female Tropical Checkered-Skipper nectaring on Rudbeckia

Swarthy Skipper -

Clouded Skipper -
Fiery Skipper -
Whirlabout -

Whirlabout - Stuart Lake Rd

Southern Broken-Dash -

Southern Broken-Dash -- side road south of Stuart Lake Rd

Southern Broken-Dash -- butterfly garden

Little Glassywing -

Little Glassywing - Stuart Lake Rd at the gully near FS Rd 146

Little Glassywing

Little Glassywing

Little Glassywing -- Stuart Lake Road near gully

Little Glassywing

Little Glassywing - Stuart Lake Rd by end of FS Rd 142 -- The white spots on this one's back look like eggs -- does it have some kind of parasite?

Little Glassywing

Little Glassywing

Pipevine Swallowtail -
Spicebush Swallowtail -
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail -

black morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - side road off Stuart Lk Rd

Red-banded Hairstreak -
(Summer?) Azure -

Azure sp. - butterfly garden

American Snout -
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple -
Pearl Crescent -

Pearl Crescents on Rudbeckia - ranger station on Work Center Rd

Common Buckeye -

Common Buckeye - Stuart Lake Rd

Common Buckeye

Little Wood-Satyr -

Little Wood-Satyr - Stuart Lake Rd at Glenn Emory Trail crossing

Little Wood-Satyr - Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden

Carolina Satyr -

Moths:
Confused Eusarca...

Confused Eusarca - near butterfly garden

...several of what looked like Vetch Looper or similar sp., and this moth...

moth seen at butterfly garden - I'm going to have to look this one up...

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies):

Arrowhead Spiketail -

Arrowhead Spiketail found down unmarked side road off south side of Stuart Lake Rd between FS Rd 123 and FS Rd 146

...

Gray Petaltail -

Gray Petaltail - same unnamed side road off south side of Stuart Lake Rd as the Arrowhead Spiketail

...

...

Great Blue Skimmer -

female or young male Great Blue Skimmer - same location as Gray Petaltail and Arrowhead Spiketail above

Blue Dasher -

female or young male Blue Dasher - Stuart Lake Rd

Eastern Pondhawk -
Common Whitetail -
possible Calico Pennant -

?pennant? - Hardwater Lake Cutoff

darner sp./spp.

Blue-tipped Dancer -

Blue-tipped Dancer (damselfly) - several were present here at the north end of NF Rd 197 / Big Creek Camp Rd, a stone's throw from the edge of the flood water

Wildflowers:

Winecup or Poppy-mallow (Callirhoe sp.)...

Callirhoe sp. - Stuart Lake Road

Callirhoe sp. - Stuart Lake Rd

Cherokee Rose or other "wild rose" sp. (Rosa sp.) ...

Rose - Hardwater Lake Cutoff

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sp.), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium sp.), Collicroot (Aletris sp.)...

Collicroot - abundant along FS Rd 146

...Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Sensitive-briar (Mimosa sp.), Spiderwort (Tradescantia sp.), Venus's Looking-glass (Triodanis sp.), Scullcap (Scutellaria sp.), just to name a few.

   As always, if you spot an incorrect i.d. or have a suggestion for one that I'm unsure about, feel free to let me know.

   I look forward to seeing what's new in this region of Kisatchie National Forest in the near future.

Stuart Lake Road

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