National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve (Kisatchie NF, Winn and Grant Parishes) -- 8/9/2019

Barred Yellow -- Forest Service Road 556

Related Posts
 same location on July 27, 2019:
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2019/08/national-catahoula-wildlife-management.html

 same, March 2019:
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2019/04/national-catahoula-wildlife-management.html

*************************
   On August 9 I returned to NCWMP with a focus on relocating the Barred Yellows (butterflies) that I'd first seen here on July 27, to better document this species at a location outside of its normal geographic range. I sought out butterflies and birded along a route starting in Grant and ending in Winn Parish. I began on FS Rd 556 at LA- 472 and went west on 556, across US-167, and continuing on 556 which eventually leads into Winn Parish. I took Winn Parish Road 824 (aka Rd 155) north to Parish Rd 827, then 827 southwest/south to the 'no vehicles beyond this point' berm. I walked an additional quarter of a mile or so down the road beyond this point, to where Iatt Creek comes up alongside the road.
   Some habitat shots before continuing...

FS Rd 556 at LA-472

FS Rd 556

FS Rd 556

pond by RR, FS Rd 556

FS Rd 556/ hunter sign-in station on west side of US-167

woods along FS Rd 556 west of US-167

...

FS Rd 556 west

...

in Winn Parish -- FS Rd 556/Parish Rd 826 at Rd 824/155

Road 827

no driving beyond this point...

...

...

Iatt Creek

Iatt Creek

   Barred Yellows

   Though these small butterflies are common in the portion of Louisiana east of the Mississippi River, they are almost never reported from the part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi. However, one was reported to BAMONA for late July 2017 at the Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden, which is in the Kisatchie NF near Bentley in Grant Parish. This is roughly 15 miles south of my sightings, as the crow flies, and is surrounded by similar habitat -- managed pine forest. When I realized that I had seen some of these butterflies on a visit to NCWMP on July 27, 2019, I was very surprised. After talking to Craig Marks (author of Butterflies of Louisiana) I realized that I needed better photo documentation for these out-of-range butterflies. I was already wanting to get back over to the Preserve soon anyway, and now I had a specific goal in mind: find and photograph Barred Yellows.
   Barred Yellows turned out to be quite numerous on August 9, with a total of 30 individuals tallied. I found 4 or 5 at the place where I'd seen some during the previous visit. This locale in on FS Rd 556 in Grant Parish, about 0.6 miles west of LA-472. This time I got some photos that show the dorsal side of the wings with the namesake black bar across the forewing prominent against the light yellow background.

here you can see the black bar across the light yellow dorsal surface of the front wing -- FS Rd 556 (east)

...

...

Unfortunately these pics are very blurry as the only time they'd expose the upper surface of their wings was when they were flying. Luckily the images seem to be enough to ID. Barred Yellows tend to fly low to the ground, so I could look down at them for the black bars on the upper surfaces of the wings as they flitted by and ID-ed many of them like that.

   I took many more photos -- of these and of additional individuals seen elsewhere down the road -- that show the ventral side of the wings as the butterflies rested with their wings closed.

Barred Yellow - ventral wing view with dorsal pattern showing through

Barred Yellow - ventral -- FS Rd 556 east

Barred Yellow...

Barred Yellow -- this individual is also shown in the above dorsal flight shots

Barred Yellow further down the road

   The similar Little Yellow -- a common species in this part of the state -- was also present in many of the same areas as the Barred Yellow. However, the Barred seemed to be the more common species east of US-167, and the Little was the more common species west of US-167. Along FS Rd 556 between LA-472 and US-167 (east of US-167) in Grant Parish I counted 22 Barred Yellows and 15 Littles. On FS Rd 556 west of US-167 in Grant Parish I counted 4 Barred Yellows and 32 Little Yellows. In Winn Parish I had 4 Barred Yellows (3 on Parish Rd 824 and 1 on PRd 827) and 10 Little Yellows. There were also a few that I couldn't determine whether they were Barred or Little -- 6 in Grant west of US-167, 1 in Winn.
   US-167 is a major 4-lane highway with a wide right-of-way. I wonder if it could have been something of a minor barrier for local Barreds moving westward (just a thought). I don't know if location or time of day had more to do with which species was seen more in which area. The Barred were dominant east and earlier, the Little west and later. The habitat is very similar on both sides, but perhaps with more of the opener almost purely pine areas being along FS Rd 556 in the east.

Little Yellow -- FS Rd 556 west of US-167

Barred Yellow -- FS Rd 556 (west)

Little Yellow -- FS Rd 556 (east)

Barred Yellow -- FS Rd 556 (east) -- compare pattern showing through wings to that of Little Yellow above

   The Barred Yellows were often nectaring from tiny, low-growing Diodia (Diodia teres, Poor Joe, I think) growing along the edges of the gravel roads. I don't think I saw them visit any other flowers, though with the roadside having been mowed recently there weren't a lot of other options for nectar sources near the roads. I did not see them on the few Liatris (Blazing Star), Vernonia (Ironweed), Button Bush, and Hydrolea (Blue Waterleaf) that survived the mowing and were attracting a few other butterflies.

Barred Yellow nectaring on Diodia -- FS Rd 556 east

   I got some of the better (if still blurry) dorsal flight shots of Barred Yellow on Road 824/155 in Winn Parish.

Barred Yellow -- Winn Parish

Barred Yellow -- Winn Parish

Barred Yellow ventral -- the individual in the dorsal shots

Barred Yellow - a second individual at the same spot in Winn Parish

   The other butterfly highlight of the day was a roadside-skipper that I've yet to identify, seen along FS Rd 556 in the section east of Road 521 (Grant Parish). The roadside-skipper was tiny, and dark brown, with a contrasting white face. There is a pattern of white markings visible on both surfaces of the upper wing. Unfortunately I didn't see what the underside of the lower wing looked like and this is not visible in the photos.

roadside-skipper sp. -- FS Rd 556 (east)

roadside skipper sp. (image "sharpness" turned all the way up)

roadside-skipper sp.

   There are a number of species of roadside-skipper that are very similar to one another and which look similar to the one I saw, but my knowledge of and experience with these skippers is very limited to say the least. My best guess is that it could be Dusky Roadside-Skipper, but that is just a guess based on the visible pattern on both surfaces of the upper wing and my overall impression of the skipper's coloring, as well as the rounder shape of the ends of the antennae. Another possibility is Common Roadside-Skipper. Both Common and Dusky Roadside-Skippers are found in parts of Kisatchie NF in comparable habitat. The Bell's Roadside-Skipper that we saw in Natchtoches Parish during the Kisatchie Longleaf Trail Butterfly Count back in June makes me want to consider that species, though it is much less likely to be encountered in Louisiana, that having been the first state record.
   The wee roadside-skipper's ID remains a mystery, at least for the time being.

   As mentioned above, the roadsides had been mowed since my previous visit. With that and the lapse of nearly two weeks, butterfly numbers and diversity were down from what they were then. However, there was still a fair amount of butterfly activity and some nectar sources to be found.
   The Little Glassywings were much less numerous this time -- down to just two, seen together -- and I only saw one "cloudywing sp.".

Little Glassywing 1 -- FS Rd 556 east

Little Glassywing 2

Hoary Edges and Gemmed Satyrs were lacking altogether this time. Numbers of yellows were up this time, though, as was also the case for Carolina Satyrs. There were far fewer swallowtails in terms of individuals, though I did get the same 5 species of swallowtails as last time, including a few of my favorite, Zebra Swallowtail.

Zebra Swallowtail - It wouldn't sit still for a photo, so I snapped one on the fly -- walking road to Iatt Creek

puddle party at parking area across FS Rd 556 from hunter sign-in station, at west side of US-167 -- butterflies in pic include Spicebush Swallowtail, 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple, duskywing sp., and Red Admiral

   Additional species this time included Ocola Skipper (1) and Painted Lady (1).

Ocola Skipper nectaring on Liatris -- FS Rd 556 east

Painted Lady -- FS Rd 556 east

   Being deep in the heart of the summer doldrums, the level of bird activity was even lower than on the previous visit. But taking it slow, I did find a fair assortment of birds (33 species) including a couple of species -- Anhinga and Little Blue Heron -- that I don't think I've seen in NCWMP before. These were at the pond by the railroad tracks.

immature Little Blue Heron

   There were three Red-cockaded Woodpeckers across LA-472 from FS Rd 556. One more was heard just east of Rd 521.
   (video: Red-cockaded Woodpecker at LA-472)

   Bird song was nearly lacking, but foraging family groups of passerines could be seen and heard in the trees here and there. A Bachman's Sparrow sang a few times that morning at the locale on FS Rd 556 (east) where I'd heard one on the previous visit.
   I did not relocate the White-breasted Nuthatches that I saw along FS Rd 556 back on 7/27.
 
   By Iatt Creek along the 'no vehicles' part of Rd 827 I spotted a small, unfamiliar snake. Initially I was unsure what it was, and guessed that it might be a Dekay's Brownsnake, though I was far from sure. Connie Guillory has since had a look at the photos and ID-ed it as Dekay's Brownsnake, a species that she is familiar with from personal experience. Thanks Connie! *edited: 9/2/19*
   Dekay's Brownsnake. (http://louisianaherps.com/suborder_serpentes.html)

Dekay's Brownsnake -- by Iatt Creek

Dekay's Brownsnake

Dekay's Brownsnake

Dekay's Brownsnake

Dekay's Brownsnake

   These nonvenomous snakes (relatives of the ribbonsnakes and gartersnake) are apparently common in the state, but as far as I know I've never encountered one before.

   I saw a White-tailed Deer doe run off into the woods at one location, and saw a fawn cross the road at the same spot where I watched the group of deer back on 7/27.
   While walking back up the road from Iatt Creek to the truck I encountered a group of feral hogs. One medium-sized hog ran into the woods on my right, but another was making an awful squealing noise ("like a stuck pig") just ahead and to the left. I could see bits of a large hog out there between the trees, and then a group of four of so piglets -- not tiny, but still fairly small. I guess the noise was a warning by a protective mother sow. I made warning noises of my own -- stomping as I walked, whooping and talking aloud, slapping my leg -- to let the hogs know where I was and hopefully to intimidate them. I do not want a nasty run-in with a wild/feral hog like you sometimes hear about. The hogs ran farther into the woods, and I got back to the truck just fine (if you can call having several small ticks crawling up your pants fine!).

Below are lists for the day's birds, butterflies, and a few other things.
 
Birds (Grant Parish)
7:14 am; 5 hrs 51 mins; 6.3 miles
77 to ~90 F.; variable sky; light breeze

Wood Duck - 1 (pond by railroad)
Mourning Dove - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2
Great Blue Heron - 1 (flew from the pond by RR; one seen at the pond between RR and US-167 after that is presumed same individual)

Great Blue Heron at second pond on FS Rd 556

Little Blue Heron - 1 (pond by RR)
Turkey Vulture - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Red-tailed Hawk -- FS Rd 556

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - 4

Red-cockaded Woodpecker - LA-472 X FS Rd 556

Pileated Woodpecker - 4
Northern Flicker - 2
American Kestrel - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 9
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue Jay - 5
American Crow - 5
Carolina Chickadee - 11
Tufted Titmouse - 11
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3
Carolina Wren - 18
Bachman's Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 2
Hooded Warbler - 4
Pine Warbler - 7
Northern Cardinal - 23
Indigo Bunting - 3

Additional birds while passing back through Grant on FS Rd 556 after birding in Winn: Red-headed Woodpecker (snags at pond between US-167 and RR), Anhinga (pond by RR), and an Indigo Bunting singing where one wasn't that morning.

Birds (Winn Parish)
1:05 pm; 2 hrs 17 mins; 3.9 miles
~90 - 96 F.; sky variable, usually sunny; light breeze

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2
Turkey Vulture - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker on Sycamore by Iatt Creek

Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
White-eyed Vireo - 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 5
Carolina Chickadee - 5
Tufted Titmouse - 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Carolina Wren - 6
Hooded Warbler - 3
Northern Parula - 2 (foraging in trees by Iatt Creek with other passerines)
Summer Tanager - 2
Northern Cardinal - 10
Indigo Bunting - 2

Butterflies (Grant Parish) 

cloudwing sp. - 1
Horace's Duskywing - 2
duskywing sp. - 15

duskywing -- FS Rd 556 at junct. with 521 -- I think its the same individual in below pic

duskywing -- I think its the same individual in above pic

Common Checkered-Skipper - 3

Common/White Checkered-Skipper -- FS Rd 556 (east)

Clouded Skipper - 2

Clouded Skipper -- FS Rd 556 (east)

Little Glassywing - 2

Little Glassywing -- FS Rd 556 east

Little Glassywing -- same as above

Ocola Skipper - 1

Ocola Skipper nectaring on Liatris -- FS Rd 556 (east)

roadside-skipper sp. (Dusky R-S, or Common R-S, or similar sp.???) - 1

roadside skipper sp. (image "sharpness" turned all the way up)

dark skipper sp. - 1
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 1
Spicebush Swallowtail - 8
Zebra Swallowtail - 3
Pipevine Swallowtail - 1
dark swallowtail sp. - 1
Cloudless Sulphur - 12
Barred Yellow - 26

Barred Yellow -- FS Rd 556 east

Little Yellow - 47
Barred/Little Yellow? - 6
Gulf Fritillary - 3
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 5

'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple (front) with 2 Spicebush Swallowtails -- parking/hunter sign-in on FS Rd 556 at west side of US-167

Pearl Crescent - 2
Painted Lady - 1
Red Admiral - 1
Common Buckeye - 3
Carolina Satyr - 3

Butterflies (Winn Parish)

checkered-skipper sp. - 1
Clouded Skipper - 1

Clouded Sulphur nectaring on Liatris -- corner of Rds 827 and 824

Zebra Swallowtail - 1

Zebra Swallowtail -- walking road toward Iatt Creek

Giant Swallowtail - 1
Cloudless Sulphur - 8
Barred Yellow - 4

Little Yellow - 10
Barred/Little Yellow? - 1
Sleepy Orange - 2
Red-banded Hairstreak - 1

Red-banded Hairstreak -- road near Iatt Creek

'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 2

'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple -- Rd 827

Pearl Crescent - 7
Red Admiral - 1
Carolina Satyr - 25

Carolina Satyr -- walking road to Iatt Creek - they were abundant at this location

Mammals
White-tailed Deer, feral hog

Herps
Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green (Bronze) Frog; *Dekay's Brown Snake, Pond Slider

   As always, if you spot any incorrect IDs or have suggestions for those I'm unsure about, feel free to let me know.

Blue Waterleaf (Hydrolea ovata) and some type of St. Johnswort of similar plant (Hypericum sp.) -- FS Rd 556 east

*********************************************