Central Louisiana Birding & Wildlife

Friday, August 19, 2016

Catahoula NWR Headquarters and Willow Lake Units (La Salle Parish), July 2016

a peek at the first Wood Stork of the summer, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

This is starting to get into that ho-hum season for woodland birding, the season when many birds are singing less and thus less likely to be noticed. A July 8 visit to the Headquarters Unit was still pretty productive, though. I concentrated on the mostly wooded east and south/southwest part of the refuge loop and the short side road Mosquito Bend Road. Swainson's Warbler was singing, though approx. 0.2 mile south of the position where I usually heard it on visits this breeding season. A Kentucky Warbler was also singing. (video: heard, but not seen -- Red-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Swainson's Warbler, American Crow, Kentucky Warbler, Northern Cardinal.)

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

I encountered a fellow in a truck who let me know that he'd just seen a Wild Turkey hen on the refuge that morning. I did not see the bird, but was glad for the news. Water was still a bit too high to attract large concentrations of wading birds, and so there were modest numbers of herons, egrets, and ibises. A small congregation of Northern Rough-winged Swallows was seen -- groups of NRW Swallows are common this time of year, post-breeding season.

part of a flock of Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Catathoula NWR Hq Unit


wing from a Luna Moth, Mosquito Bend Rd.

Butterflies and moths were the usual assortment, including Little Yellow, Pearl Crescent, Question Mark, Cloudless Sulphur, for the butterflies; Lychnosia intermicata and Timandra amaturaria for the moths. A small number of Monarchs were seen. Tropical Checkered-Skippers were out along Mosquito Bend Rd, where I also found the wing of a long-gone Luna Moth. Phaon Crescents were working the Frogfruit (Phyla) along the south/southeast part of the refuge loop.

male Tropical Checkered-Skipper, near Cowpen Bayou

Pearl Crescent, Mosquito Bend Rd, Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

Phaon Crescent nectaring on Frogfruit, Catahoula NWR Rd

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Cowpen Bayou on Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

Anhinga at Duck Lake

I drove the entire 9-mile refuge loop on 7/19. Though Duck Lake was still not low enough to concentrate wading birds, conditions had improved somewhat and I did see more waders including Roseate Spoonbill and my FOS Wood Stork. Two Spotted Sandpipers were seen. Flocking Northern Rough-winged Swallows were present. Unfortunately, I heard neither Swainson's nor Kentucky Warbler on that trip, though that isn't surprising as the territorial singing of breeding season gives way to the summer doldrums. A few Prothonotary Warblers and Northern Parulas were heard, and Painted and Indigo Buntings continued to be very vocal, many were heard singing.

two Anhingas, Duck Lake, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

wading birds near Duck Lake (Great Egrets, White Ibises, Wood Stork, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Herons)

male Painted Bunting, C NWR

Hackberry Emperor, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Butterflies included Variegated Fritillary (which I commonly see on Bushley Bayou Unit, but not Headquarters Unit), Orange Sulphur, and Hackberry Emperor, among others (mostly same species as previous visit).
Cross-lined Waved (Timandra amaturaria) continue to be common moths at this location.

Orange Sulphur, C NWR HQ Unit

Variegated Fritillary, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

north end of Duck Lake, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

morning at Willow Lake Unit of Catahoula NWR

I went by the Willow Lake Unit on 7/20. Mowing of the weedy east section of the big meadow/field earlier this summer meant that numbers of some species were off from what might have been expected: no Prairie Warblers were heard or seen and only one Yellow-breasted Chat. Four Common Yellowthroats were heard, though. A Hooded Warbler was heard in the young hardwoods where it had been heard repeatedly this breeding season, but unfortunately no Swainson's Warbler this time.

top to bottom: Cross-lined Waved (moth), Phaon Crescent (butterfly), and possible Corn Earworm Moth (though I have serious reservations about that third (placeholder) i.d.)

Lepidoptera were out in good numbers. Some of the moths were new to me and identifying them was tricky. The i.d.'s (see: pics below) may or may not be correct, but will be corrected in the future, if need be (http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ and http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/Plates.shtml and http://jtrahan.com/moths/index.htm are excellent resources for moth identification).

TENTATIVE i.d.: could be Inkblot Palpita (Palpita illibalis) or could be Freeman's Palpita (Palpita freemanalis), C NWR Willow Lake Unit

TENTATIVE i.d.: Corn Earworm Moth (Helicoverpa zea). ...though after seeing a *definite* H. zea on HQ Unit in August, I question this i.d., as I feel the two looked too dissimilar. (Moths are hard, y'all!). Any suggestions on i.d.s of my moth photos are always welcomed! This one will likely be changed.

More familiar moths included the Cross-lined Waved (Timandra amaturaria) and Vetch Looper Moth (Caenurgia chloropha). At this point, I believe that all three of the following photos are of the variable Vetch Looper Moth. ...could be mistaken, though.

tentative i.d.: Vetch Looper

A Dolichos Armyworm Moth caterpillar (Spodoptera dolichos) was seen.

caterpillar of the Dolichos Armyworm Moth, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit

Butterflies included numerous Phaon and Pearl Crescents at the Frogfruit (Phyla) patches along the west side of the first north-south stretch of the road after the entrance, Little Yellow, Common/White Checkered Skipper, and (Horace's?) Duskywing.

Pearl Crescent, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit

American Alligator, Cowpen Bayou, 7/19/16

Some of the herps detected on these parts of the NWR during July included Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, American Alligator, Pond Slider. Green Treefrogs can be heard singing in the video below (taken near Duck Lake and Cowpen Bayou on the Headquarter Unit, 7/19/2016).

Mammals didn't come in great variety this month -- Eastern Cottontail, Eastern Fox Squirrel, White-tailed Deer.

Eastern Cottontail, Willow Lake Unit

Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) vine, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 7/19/16

Wildflowers during July on Hq and Willow Lake Units included (to name a few, and in no particular order): Maypop or Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata),

Maypop, HQ Unit, 7/19

Germander (Teucrium canadense), Frogfruit (Phyla),

Frogfruit, HQ Unit, 7/19

Carolina Nightshade (Solanum),

Solanum, Willow Lake Unit, 7/20/16

Swamp Marshmallow/Rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos),

Swamp Marshmallow, HQ Unit, 7/19

Halbeardleaf Rosemallow (Hibiscus laevis),

Halbeardleaf Rosemallow, HQ Unit, 7/19

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias -- A. perennis and/or A. incarnata?),

Swamp Milkweed, Willow Lake Unit, 7/20

American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea),

American Lotus, HQ Unit, 7/8

and American Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata).

Had I visited the Headquarters Unit at the end of the month, I would have seen that the waters were down enough by then for the area around Duck Lake to be a draw for large numbers of wading birds. Below are a few pics from my visit on 8/1/2016 to show what I might have been missing on 7/31/2016!

wading birds (mostly Great Egret and Wood Stork), Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 8/1/16

Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Stork, and Black-necked Stilt, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 8/1/16

wading birds on Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 8/1/16 -- mostly Great Egret and Wood Stork, with a few Snowy Egrets and White Ibises

But alas, I didn't go during the final week of July. More about how things shaped up for August on Catahoula NWR will be in a blog post at the end of the month.
Following the current entry will be one covering Bushley Bayou Unit during this past July. I spent a good amount of time out there this July and am still trying to organize that material into a not-too-long-winded post which will be up soon. That one will include, among other things, a good bit of info on fishes found in the streams there.

American Lotus (with Honey Bee), Catahoula NWR Hq Unit, 7/8/2016

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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Bayou Cocodrie NWR in Concordia Parish, 7/24/2016

This blog entry comes right on the heels of another new entry. That one was a summary of Catahoula NWR and La Salle Parish observations from late May through June. Didn't leave my usual procrastinator's gap between these two blog posts.

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Bayou Cocodrie NWR, Concordia Parish, 7/24/16:


male Dukes' Skipper (Euphyes dukesi) on host plant, near trail to observation platform on Bayou Cocodrie NWR

    I joined Craig Marks in searching for butterflies on Bayou Cocodrie NWR in Concordia Parish on July 24, and of course the outing also doubled as a birding trip for me. Despite the ominous thunder and gray skies that morning, the light drizzle eventually ceased and the butterflies came out in good numbers.
   The area we were in is the east side of the refuge, in the vicinity of Poole Road and the side road that runs west from Poole Rd, past the observation platform, and down to the boat launch. Habitat there is bottomland hardwood forest (with lots of palmetto), weedy and brushy secondgrowth areas (WRP-type stuff), wide grassy road margins, the shore of a bayou, and a view of large wet-soil impoundments. Gravel roads and parking areas hold their appeal for butterflies as well.
   The total list for the approx 5 hours (9:30-ish am to 2:30-ish pm) that we were in the field includes 27 butterfly species. Many were common, expected species, such as Horace's Duskywing, 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple, and Little Yellow.

a male 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Carolina Satyrs were abundant along the trails through the woods where overall butterfly diversity was lower than in the open areas.

Dukes' Skipper (Euphyes dukesi) on host plant near the Bayou Cocodrie NWR headquarters

Duke's Skipper, near Bayou Cocodrie NWR headquarters

There were a few surprises, though. The definite highlight was locating two colonies of Dukes' Skipper -- one beside the Cypress Creek trail adjacent to the refuge headquarters grounds, and the other was beside the trail to the observation platform, approx one mile to the northwest of the first location. Both locations were patches of the skipper's host plant, which, if I understand correctly, is a sedge in the Carex genus, and were located in small clearings in wet woods. There were 8 Dukes' Skippers seen, total -- 4 patroling males at the location by the Hq; an ovipositing female and 3 more males in the vicinity of the observation platform trail.
These little butterflies are considered Threatened, with a NCGR ranking of 3, so it was exciting to locate two colonies. One wonders how many more are out there.

Dukes' Skipper (Euphyes dukesi) on host plant, near trail to observation platform on Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Other new-to-me butterflies for the day included Least Skipper and Broad-winged Skipper, both adjacent to the boat launch on the north bank of Cross Bayou/Bayou Cocodrie.

Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor), beside boat launch on Bayou Cocodrie NWR west of Poole Rd

Craig braved the mud and sawgrass to get a good luck at the Broad-wings, who were in the reeds at the water's edge.

part of "puddle party" at the boat launch

Other notable butterfly moments were the puddle party at the boat launch, which included 14 Red-spotted Purples, 11 Question Marks, 4 Hackberry Emperors, 2 American Snouts, 2 Horace's Duskywings, a Tropical Checkered-Skipper, and a Pearl Crescent

Some of the puddle party participants, including (left to right) Hackberry Emperor, Question Mark, and Red-spotted Purple

The party continues down by the water with (left to right) Red-spotted Purple, Question Mark, and Horace's Duskywing (the two little ones at center-bottom)

; and routinely having Hackberry Emperors landing on me, which I never get tired of. Hackberry Emps are attracted to sweat, so on a warm muggy day like this one was, we attracted our share of the bold little butterflies, providing up-close looks at our normally flighty quarry.

Hackberry Emperor on Craig

Black-bordered Lemon Moth, Poole Rd near NWR Hq

Butterflies were just part of the story, though. Starting with their fellow Lepidoptera, moths: there were many out and a nice variety of species, many that I did not recognize. At this point I haven't had a chance to i.d. all the ones that I've photoed, but some that I already knew included Black-bordered Lemon Moth (Marimatha nigrofimbra), Cross-lined Waved (Timandra amaturaria), Vetch Looper (Caenurgia chloropha), and Epipagis huronalis. I suspect that I saw some Lychnosea intermicata, but didn't get to get a good look at any. Photos of several moths are below.

tentative i.d.: Epipagis huronalis moth, Poole Rd near the Bayou Cocodrie NWR headquarters

At first I thought I had seen a Smoky Tetanolita moth, but upon looking at photos I realized that this one was going to be more difficult to i.d. that I had expected!. I have much to learn. (Cypress Creek trail, Bayou Cocodrie NWR)

moth (species TBD) on Palmetto, Cypress Creek trail, Bayou Cocodrie NWR

tentative i.d.: Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), forest trail west of Poole Rd, Bayou Cocodrie NWR [edited from "TBD" on 8/18 after a possible i.d. was determined]

Great Egrets, Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Birds were not especially conspicuous that day, but there was still a decent assortment to be seen and heard. Swainson's Warbler, Northern Parula, and Common Yellowthroat were the only warblers located, though. Indigo and Painted Buntings and Blue Grosbeak were present. There were a good many Great Egrets, plegadis Ibis sp., and other waders viewed at a distance from the observation platform. Two Mississippi Kites were circling and calling to one another over a forest trail. A Loggerhead Shrike was a nice find just before leaving the refuge.


Black Vulture, Bayou Cocodrie NWR

The best bird experience, though, was 'hanging out' with a wild Black Vulture at the observation platform. When I noticed the bird perched on the boardwalk railing as I approached the platform, I stopped to take some photos. The bird was unusually tame and actually made its way down toward me, coming to within yards of me. I suspect it has been given handouts of food in the past (which is against the rules). Whatever the reason for the bird's friendly disposition, it was a treat to get to observe it so close for several minutes -- snapping lots of photos and taking several short videos -- without the bird being stressed or frightened.

Black Vulture, Bayou Cocodrie NWR observation platform

On the herp front: we didn't see any snakes, which was somewhat surprising. Several frog species were heard, including numerous Squirrel Treefrogs near the observation platform and Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green Treefrog, and Blanchard's Cricket Frog vocalizing at various locations. Green Frogs and/or Southern Leopard Frogs were glimpsed leaping out of our path throughout the day. Squirrel Treefrogs can be heard in this video.

A family of Northern Raccoons, and a rabbit leaping into cover along the road, were the day's mammals

mamma raccoon and two of her four little ones

tentative i.d.: Waterpod (Hydrolea quadrivalvis),Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Wildflowers were limited, but far from lacking. Finding Hydrolea in bloom at multiple locations was very nice. I believe these may be H. quadrivalvis, a different species that the two Blue Waterleaf species (H. ovata and H. uniflora) that I see on Catahoula NWR. Verbenas, Frogfruit (Phyla), Carolina Nightshade (Solanum), Helenium, Virginia Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana), Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans), and Persicaria were some of the plants that were in bloom.

tentative i.d.: Waterpod (Hydrolea quadrivalvis). near observation platform walkway

Complete butterfly list is below. Thanks to Craig for putting the list together. Photos for several species are shown as well. For some species that were especially numerous, exact numbers aren't given, but rather 'A' for abundant and 'VA' for very abundant are used.

Little Yellow, Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Pipevine Swallowtail - 1
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 3

Cloudless Sulphur - 7
Little Yellow - 10
Sleepy Orange - 1

Sleepy Orange nectaring on Brazilian Verbena, observation platform parking area, Bayou Cocodrie NWR

Red-banded Hairstreak - 4
Gray Hairstreak -2

Gray Hairstreak beside Poole Rd

Gray Hairstreak at boat launch parking area

Pearl Crescent, trail through woods west of Poole Rd

American Snout - 6
Gulf Fritillary - 1
Phaon Crescent - 17
Pearl Crescent - A
Common Buckeye - 2
Question Mark - 15
Viceroy - 11
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 25
Hackberry Emperor - VA
Carolina Satyr - A