Birding on the Ouachita and Boeuf Rivers

looking up the Ouachita River from a point beside the Sicily Island Hills

Related Posts:
 - recent visit to Sicily Island Hills and Harrisonburg Landing (links to previous visits found in this entries):
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2019/01/sicily-island-hills-harrisonburg-area.html
 - visit to Harrisonburg and other locations along the Ouachita, with links to previous visit:
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/10/catahoula-parish-birding-harrisonburg.html

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   On January 28 I joined Charles Williams for a birding trip up the Ouachita and Boeuf Rivers in Catahoula Parish and into Turkey Creek in Franklin Parish. We launched at the Harrisonburg Landing Rec. Area, which was quite birdy itself, and traveled upriver making many stops beside the shore and short forays into adjoining lakes and up the mouths of creeks.

Ouachita River / Harrisonburg Landing

going up the Ouachita

going up the Ouachita

Ouachita River - On the west (left) side is the point where the eagle was, on the east are the mouths of Little Creek and Big Creek.

Ouachita River

Ouachita River

confluence of the Ouachita (left) and Boeuf (right) / Stafford Point on left side

Boeuf River -- Sicily Island Hills WMA on east bank (left), Boeuf WMA on the west

going up the Boeuf River

Here, upstream from the confluence with Bushy Bayou, the Boeuf runs west-to-east and the terrain on either side is low and swampy. Turkey Creek is very similar. 

These tangents along the Ouachita included Town Lake just north of Harrisonburg,

entering Town Lake

Dry Lake - an oxbow through which Rawson Creek flows,

Dry Lake

the sort of bay or pond at the mouth of Little Creek,

the bay into which Little Creek flows

and Big Creek.

Big Creek, heading back to the river

Along the Boeuf River we went short distances up Coke Creek and Bushy Bayou.

Coke Creek

When we reached the mouth of Turkey Creek, we entered and traveled part of the way to the dam and into a backwater area.

channel through backwater along Turkey Creek

going back down Turkey Creek

This trip up Turkey Creek took us into Franklin Parish.
   Water was quite high (Ouachita River level at Monroe was just over 40' I think the day before, according to NOAA website).
   Bird activity was good, and the scenery was worthy too. The Ouachita River butts up against the west flank of the Sicily Island Hills for several miles, with pine-covered hills dropping off into the swirling water.

Sicily Island Hills along the Ouachita River

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The hills and mixed pine-hardwoods continue a little ways along the Boeuf as well. Little Creek, Big Creek, and Coke Creek are among the Sicily Island Hills streams that enter the rivers.
   Many of the typical woodland birds were present in respectable numbers, including Yellow-rumped Warbler, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, and Pileated Woodpecker (which were sometimes seen flying across the river). Pine Warblers were singing up and down the river pretty much wherever pine trees were present. We tried for Red-breasted Nuthatch by using playback at many locations but found none. We also tried for Purple Finch a few times, with the same results. 
   Wood Ducks and Mallards were present along the Ouachita and Boeuf, flying over or flushing from backwater when our boat approached.

Mallards at entrance to Dry Lake

male Wood Duck on the Ouachita

Charles spotted a Hooded Merganser as it flew over. An Anhinga seen along the Ouachita was a pretty good bird to encounter: they can be tough to find in this part of the state during winter. Up Turkey Creek we also found dozens of Double-crested Cormorants and at least 150 American White Pelicans.

American White Pelicans - Turkey Creek

    It was a pretty good day for raptors, with the highlight being a handsome adult Bald Eagle in a tree on the point across from the mouths of Little and Big Creeks. Another Bald Eagle, a youngster, was seen in flight at Turkey Creek.

adult Bald Eagle on the Ouachita

    Impressed with the birding potential of this route, we've already made plans to return in the spring. Below are the lists of birds found on this outing, broken down into four locations.


Harrisonburg Landing Rec. Area
7:50 a.m; 50 minutes; 0.2 miles
start temp. 38 degrees F., sunny, calm
habitat shot:

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Snow Goose - 300 - two flyover groups of ~150 each
Wood Duck - 6
Double-crested Cormorant - 3
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1
Bed-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Blue Jay - 3
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Carolina Wren - 4
American Robin - 50
Northern Mockingbird - 2
American Goldfinch - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 4
Song Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 4
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
Common Grackle - 11
Pine Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3
Northern Cardinal - 3

Ouachita River
8:40 a.m.; 2 hrs 25 mins; ~10 miles
sunny, wind calm at first, breeze developing later
habitat shots:

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Wood Duck - 7
Mallard - 11
Hooded Merganser - 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Killdeer - 3
Anhinga - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 2
Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 1
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 22
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Accipiter sp. - 1
Bald Eagle - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 10
Downy Woodpecker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 7
Northern Flicker - 3
Eastern Phoebe - 7
Blue Jay - 16
American Crow - 10
Carolina Chickadee - 8
Tufted Titmouse - 13
Carolina Wren - 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Eastern Bluebird - 3
American Robin - 17
Northern Mockingbird - 2
European Starling - 2
American Pipit - 1 - flyover heard
American Goldfinch - 5
White-throated Sparrow - 6
Song Sparrow - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Pine Warbler - 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 18
Northern Cardinal - 9

Boeuf River
11:05 a.m; 30 mins; ~3.5 miles
Sunny, wind picking up
shoreline habitat shots:

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Wood Duck - 14
Mallard - 3
Great Blue Heron - 1
Turkey Vulture - 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 3
American Robin - x - some heard
Pine Warbler - 1

Turkey Creek
11:35 a.m.; 35 min; ~1 mile
sunny to partly cloudy, somewhat windy
habitat shot:

We spent much of our Turkey Creek time in the backwater and channels around here

Double-crested Cormorant - 60
American White Pelican - 150
Great Blue Heron - 1
Great Egret - 3
Turkey Vulture - 5
Northern Harrier - 2
Bald Eagle - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 2
American Crow - 5
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 2

returning to Harrisonburg Landing

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Sicily Island Hills & Harrisonburg Area -- 1/11/19

Red-breasted Nuthatch at the Rock Falls trail in the Sicily Island Hills

Some Related Posts:
Same locations on...
 - August 3, 2018: https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/08/sicily-island-hills-catahoula-parish.html
 - Loose Alliance trip April 28, 2018: https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/loose-alliance-field-trip-to-sicily.html
 - March 27, 2018: https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/04/hills-and-high-water-catahoula-parish.html
 - w/ butterflying group, March 17: https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/03/sicily-island-hills-harrisonburg.html
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   Judging from the weather forecast for January 11, 2019, it looked like it would be a beautiful morning to bird, so I made a trip to the JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA (aka Sicily Island Hills WMA) in the Sicily Island Hills of northern Catahoula Parish. This is one of my favorite places to get outdoors, and under a bluebird sky with the air nice and chill, I was not disappointed.
   I birded in the southern part of the WMA, accessed from LA-8 a few miles NE of Harrisonburg. I birded along the main road, going north as far as the Rock Falls trail head. I made numerous stops along the way, and took short walks along the road.

some habitat shots...

a side road that I stopped at and picked up a few birds -- There's a section along the route that was partly logged a few years ago. 

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Rock Falls trail head

The steep descent begins...

I finished with a walk down the Rock Falls Trail as far as the eponymous waterfall.

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Rock Falls

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foot bridge and Rock Creek upstream from the falls

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   In the past I've always visited the SI Hills in the spring and summer so it was nice to sample the winter birdlife here. I was hoping I'd find a few species that I'd not found at this location before. Two that I specifically sought were Purple Finch and Red-breasted Nuthatch, as it is an irruption year for these winter visitors. A short ways in, once the road levels out on the first high ridge, I stopped and found a flock of four Purple Finches -- two female and two male.

Purple Finch location

As one of the species I specifically wanted to find, I had the playback for Purple Finch queued, so when I heard the call of a flyover, I played the audio. Soon not one, but four had settled into the trees over my head -- beautiful to look at, even if the angle was cruddy for getting pictures.

female Purple Finch

male Purple Finch

After a few minutes without the audio, they moved on through the understory.
   Another species I hoped to find was Red-breasted Nuthatch. At the sign-in kiosk I played Red-breasted Nuthatch audio while I was filling out the form, and one of the birds came in calling. I got good looks at him, but not pictures. At another spot further along the road I'd see three more of these nuthatches together, associated with a nice mixed flock.

the spot where the three RB Nuthatches were

There were two more RB Nuthatches at yet another locale. Those two were responding to playback, and were heard but not seen.

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Finally, using playback again at the Rock Falls Trail I saw two more RB Nuthatches appear with a mixed flock, excitedly searching for the source of the call. I also did some screech-owl imitations that brought the other little birds in for a look. Below is video of one of the Red-breasted Nuthatches at the trail.

   Personally, I try not to overuse playback so as not to harass the birds more than necessary. It is, however, a useful tool when searching for specific species of birds or bringing them in to be documented or more accurately counted.
   Other winter birds I'd not seen in the Sicily Island Hills before that I found this day were Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Greater White-fronted Goose (flyover flock).

   Below is the list of birds for Sicily Island Hills that morning. After that are accounts of a couple of other locations I visited in the Harrisonburg area that day.

Sicily Island Hills (JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA)
7:55 a.m.; 4 hrs 24 mins; 2.6 miles
Conditions: 37 - 47 degrees F.; sunny; light breeze

Greater White-fronted Goose - 54
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 4
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 9
Downy Woodpecker - 4
Pileated Woodpecker - 4
Northern Flicker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 3
Blue Jay - 5
American Crow - 6
Carolina Chickadee - 16
Tufted Titmouse - 20

Tufted Titmouse -- Rock Falls Trail

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 8

Red-breasted Nuthatch -- Rock Falls Trail

Brown Creeper - 1
Winter Wren - 1
Carolina Wren - 17
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 7
Eastern Bluebird - 2
Hermit Thrush - 7

Hermit Thrush -- Rock Falls Trail

American Robin - 2
Cedar Waxwing - 16
Purple Finch - 4

female Purple Finch

male Purple Finch, same for video below

American Goldfinch - 6
White-throated Sparrow - 3
Pine Warbler - 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3
Northern Cardinal - 6

   After departing Sicily Island Hills, I made a stop at the boat launch on Bayou Louis ("Louie"), situated just down the road that turns south at the east end of the LA-8 bridge over said bayou.

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This is southwest of the entrance to Sicily Island Hills, and northeast of Harrisonburg. This proved to be a pretty birdy little spot, with 23 species detected in 45 minutes while walking around at the boat launch sight and the short (0.1 mile or so) stretch of dirt road back to the highway.
   Below is the bird list for this stop.

Bayou Louis Boat Launch
12:24 p.m.; 45 minutes; 0.1 mile on foot
Conditions: 56 degrees F.; sunny; light breeze

Great Egret - 1
Turkey Vulture - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue Jay - 4
Fish Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
House Wren - 1
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - x
American Goldfinch - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 4
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 2
Northern Cardinal - 3

   After Bayou Louis I made one more birding stop. I can't pass through the area without stopping at the Harrisonburg Landing Recreation Area. This is located at the NW end of LA-922, a fraction of a mile north of LA-8. The rec. area sits along the east bank of the Ouachita River, across and just upstream from Harrisonburg.

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The river was high, though not quite as high as I saw it during the spring 2018 flood.

Ouachita River, 1/11/19

   Below is the list of birds for this stop.

Harrisonburg Landing Recreation Area
1:14 p.m.; 55 mins; ~5 acres
Conditions: 56 - 57 degrees F.; sunny; light breeze

Turkey Vulture - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Eastern Phoebe - 3
Blue Jay - 4
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Northern Mockingbird - 3
White-throated Sparrow - 13
Song Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 2
Northern Cardinal - 2

   Also...
   While passing through Harrisonburg about 7:46 that morning I saw a flock of roughly a dozen blackbirds that I felt confident at the time were Rusty Blackbirds. They were flying beside the west end of the LA-8 Ouachita River bridge. However, because of the fleeting nature of the sighing, because I was driving, and the possibility that their perceived coloring involved a trick of the light, I now have some doubt as to their i.d. The were definitely blackbirds though, and my impression was that they were Euphagus-types, based on shape, so Rusty seems likely.

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