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| Limpkin - HQ Unit, 11/21 |
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Related Posts:
- CNWR Butterfly Count, Sept. 2022:
- CNWR, Summer, 2022:
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I didn't make as many trips to Catahoula NWR during October and November of 2022 as I normally would during this part of the season most years. However, there was some good birding to be had on some of the days that I did go. On each of these trips I was with a couple of family members who were squirrel hunting part of the day, and along for the wildlife observation/sightseeing the rest of the day. Also, I birded while they hunted; sometimes accompanying them into the woods, sometimes sticking to the road to bird on foot while they went into the woods to hunt.
The bird highlight from the period covered in this post was seeing a Limpkin--a La Salle Parish first, from what I can tell--on November 21st. The Limpkin was across the road from the north end of Duck Lake ("Little Lake" on some maps) on the Headquarters Unit of the refuge. We spent a good long time watching it forage in the shallows and along the shoreline, where it was seen to eat mussels. I returned to look for the Limpkin on December 1st, but did not relocate the bird. Details of that visit will be in the CNWR December post, but briefly: general bird situation (species and numbers) basically similar to the Nov. 21 visit.
Here are some habitat shots before continuing...
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| north end of Duck Lake, CNWR HQ Unit -- 11/21 |
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| Limpkin spot, across the road from north end of Duck Lake - 11/21/22 |
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| north end of Duck Lake - 11/13 |
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| west leg of refuge loop along Cowpen Bayou, HQ Unit - 11/21 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/21 |
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| Cowpen Bayou, HQ Unit - 11/21 |
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| ditto - 11/21 |
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| ditto - 11/21 |
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| woods inside southern part of refuge loop on HQ Unit - 10/8 |
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| woods near east leg of refuge loop on HQ Unit - 10/8 |
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| Dry Bayou Road on Bushley Bayou Unit - 11/21 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/21 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/13 |
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| Bushley Bayou - 11/13 |
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| ditto - 11/21 (after rain) |
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Below are the bird lists for the October date (HQ Unit) and the two November dates (HQ and Bushley Bayou Units on both dates). After that are photos of some of the other wildlife observed.
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October, 2022
Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit (La Salle Parish)
October 8, 2022
6:44 am; 3 hr, 54 min; 7.1 miles; 3 observers
mild; mixed sky/generally sunny; breeze ~3-10mph
Blue-winged Teal - 20
duck sp. - 3
Mourning Dove - 2
Killdeer - 2
shorebird sp. - 20
Anhinga - 5
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| Anhinga - Cowpen Bayou, Oct. 8 |
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Great Blue Heron - 6
Great Egret - 6
Snowy Egret - 3
Little Blue Heron - 2
white egret sp. - 5
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Barred Owl - 2
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 10
Downy Woodpecker - 4
Hairy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 4
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 7
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 11
Red-winged Blackbird - 8
Magnolia Warbler - 2
warbler sp. - 4
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 14
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 3
passerine sp. - 14
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November, 2022
Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit (La Salle Parish)
November 13, 2022
12:58 pm; 1 hr, 20 min; 2.3 miles; 3 observers
chilly; clear; breezy
north part of refuge loop--starting from refuge entrance, going past north end of Duck Lake, and a little ways down west leg of loop along Cowpen Bayou
Nov. 21, 2022
8:52 am; 2 hr, 42 min; 2.7 miles; 3 observers
cold; variable sky; not much wind to speak of
north part of refuge loop--starting from refuge entrance, going past north end of Duck Lake, and a little ways down west leg of loop along Cowpen Bayou
'x' = species detected but number of individuals not determined
Snow Goose - 0, 70
Greater White-fronted Goose - 0, 25
Wood Duck - 0, 3
Blue-winged Teal - 1, 0
Northern Shoveler - 60, 100
Gadwall - 0, 50
Mallard - 0, 200
Northern Pintail - 0, 25
Canvasback - 0, 1
Ring-necked Duck - 0, 6
Ruddy Duck - 1, 0
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| Ruddy Duck - Duck Lake, 11/13 |
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duck sp. - 300, 1200
Pied-billed Grebe - 1, 2
Limpkin - 0, 1
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| Limpkin - 11/21/22, across the road from north end of Duck Lake on the HQ Unit - The Limpkin was hanging out on the little point where Duck Lake Slough and the backwater area come together across from the inflow/outflow structure. It then waded in the shallows, foraging, and was seen feeding on mussels on the muddy shoreline. |
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| ditto |
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| Limpkin feeding on mussel |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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| Limpkin and Great Blue Heron |
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American Avocet - 115, 47
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| American Avocets - 11/13 |
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| American Avocets - 11/21 |
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Killdeer - 0, 2
Long-billed Dowitcher - 90, 1
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| 1 Lesser Yellowlegs (left), Long-billed Dowitchers - 11/13 |
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Lesser Yellowlegs - 3, 0
Greater Yellowlegs - 0, 3
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| Greater Yellowlegs - 11/21 |
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shorebird sp. - 60, 15
Anhinga - 1, 3
Great Blue Heron - 4, 7
Great Egret - 2, 0
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| Great Egret - 11/13 |
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Black Vulture - 1, 2
Turkey Vulture - 4, 7
Osprey - 0, 1
Bald Eagle - 1, 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0, 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1, 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1, 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 0, 3
Downy Woodpecker - 0, 3
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - 0, 2
American Kestrel - 1, 0
Eastern Phoebe - 0, 6
Blue Jay - 0, 2
American Crow - x (heard, see: crow sp.), 10
Fish Crow - x (heard, see: crow sp.), 0
crow sp. - 100 (large flyover group), 0
Carolina Chickadee - 2, 3
Tufted Titmouse - 0, 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1, 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 7, 10
Carolina Wren - 1, 3
Eastern Bluebird - 0, 1
American Pipit - 0, 20 (flyover group)
American Goldfinch - 0, 2
White-throated Sparrow - 6, 1
Savannah Sparrow - 3, 2
Song Sparrow - 0, 1
Pine Warbler - 0, 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 1, 18
Northern Cardinal - 3, 5
passerine sp. - 1, 10
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Catahoula NWR Bushley Bayou Unit (Catahoula Parish)
Nov. 13, 2022
10:26 am; 2 hr, 16 min; 3.6 miles; 3 observers
chilly; clear; breezy
Minnow Ponds Road and Dry Bayou Road
Nov. 21, 2022
11:46 am; 2 hr, 16 min (not a typo, coincidentally same as prev. visit) ; 3.5 miles; 3 observers
cold; variable sky; light breeze
Minnow Ponds Road and Dry Bayou Road
'x' = species detected but number of individuals not determined
Snow Goose - 48, x (heard-only flyovers)
Greater White-fronted Goose - 36, x (ditto)
Wood Duck - 0, 2
Mourning Dove - 0, 1
Great Blue Heron - 0, 1
Black Vulture - 7, 26
Turkey Vulture - 11, 8
Northern Harrier - 1, 0
Barred Owl - 0, 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1, 0
Downy Woodpecker - 2, 2
Norther Flicker - 0, 2
American Kestrel - 0, 1
Eastern Phoebe - 5, 3
Blue-headed Vireo - 1, 0
Blue Jay - 0, 1
American Crow - 2, 5
Carolina Chickadee - 6, 5
Tufted Titmouse - 4, 3
Tree Swallow - 0, 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2, 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 13, 9
Winter Wren - 0, 1
Carolina Wren - 2, 2
American Pipit - 1, 0
American Goldfinch - 1, 0
Chipping Sparrow - 0, 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - 2, 0
White-throated Sparrow - 5, 1
Swamp Sparrow - 4, 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 0, 60
Orange-crowned Warbler - 0, 1
Pine Warbler - 2, 0
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 3, 7
Northern Cardinal - 4, 5
passerine sp. - 6, 4
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Mammals (all dates, all locations):
rabbit sp. (Swamp Rabbit or Eastern Cottontail?)
White-tailed Deer
Fox Squirrel
Northern Raccoon
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| Northern Raccoon sleeping in tree - 11/13 |
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North American Mink
North American River Otter
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| North American River Otter - HQ Unit, 11/21 |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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Herps (all dates, all locations; incomplete--will look at field notes for additional species and edit soon):
Squirrel Treefrog
American Alligator
Pond Slider
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| American Alligator - Cowpen Bayou, Oct. 8 |
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As always, if you spot any incorrect IDs or have suggestions for any that I'm unsure about, feel free to comment and let me know.
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| Great Blue Heron and American Avocets - HQ Unit, 11/13 |
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