I wasn't alone in the woods today.......

Did a little birding the morning of the 26th October (Sunday). Pretty good couple of hours, got a new bird for the list (Philadelphia Vireo), saw a covey of quail which had eluded me all summer, and started seeing some sparrow species that show up around this time of year. Then on the way out I noticed a set of tracks I had not noticed on the way in. Now I realize I am never alone in the woods, there are always lots of critters to keep me company. But when you see these kind of tracks it brings on some new meaning...... a different more primal awareness creeps in and afterwards you are a little more awake than before....... I promise!

Louisiana Black Bear tracks, October 26th 2014, 9:41am.

Louisiana Black Bear tracks, October 26th 2014, 9:41am.

Louisiana Black Bear tracks, October 26th 2014, 9:41am.

Couldn't have planned it to do this well........

At the end of last year I drove an hour and a half southwest to collect some submerged aquatic grass from some shallow ponds near Pecan Island. Judge Edwards (Vermilion Corporation) and I waded through his ponds pulling a pirogue and raking up grass (Widgeon Grass, or Southern Naiad, Najas guadalupensis) and  bagging it in garbage bags, then later into multiple ice chests for transport. The next day I brought it to the large shallow pond on the property and waded through the water punching fistfuls into the shallow soft mud bottom and hoped it would take.....
Well, it took. Now the water is crystal clear and almost every square inch of the pond has it up to two inches below the surface! Take a look.

Could not have planned it to turn out this way if I tried. Wow.



October 4th 2014....approximately one year after introducing to pond.






 

Surprise !

I made a trip to the property today to do a little birding early in the morning and make a walk through with Dr. Mohlenbrock  for an upcoming plant identification course he puts on. At the same time the LSU Youth Wetlands Outreach Program came to the property to plant some trees for service hours. I didn't see anything outstanding or new (bird wise) before the visitors got there (7 -9:30 ), however about thirty minutes after everyone left  (12:30 ish) the place really came to life. I have been trying to get some photos of Prothonotary Warblers and an Orchard Oriole that I have seen but yet to photograph . Anyway I figured it was a long shot but went back to a spot were I had seen both in the past few weeks also where 20 screaming kids had just tromped through and planted trees. I settled down by a flooded pothole on the Levee next to the Weeks Canal to see what would come by. Within a few minutes (no birds yet) a deer came out and I got the pleasure of watching for maybe a half hour or so at a distance of about 30 yards. After the deer had wandered out of site behind some tall rushes I snuck back onto my main trail quietly as to not disturb the doe that was still unaware I was there. I took two steps out onto the trail looking up into the trees for birds and when my eyes came down to look at where I was going.....SURPRISE !......maybe twenty feet from me stood another doe with fawn ....also with a look of surprise. We stared each other down while I slowly inched my camera up and snapped a few.....then they were gone. Check out the birds page for an update from todays trip.....turned out to be a good one.

Peaceful waters .......

Moonrise on the small pond (late November) after a tooth rattling bone jarring day of riding the tractor preparing the prairie plots. Chilly and quiet except the haunting calls of a couple of Great Horned Owls in the nearby woods.

Rounds two and three of prairie prep....

Have completed two more rounds of herbicide treatment and disking the plots in the hopes that the native coastal prairie seed which I should be picking up from Marc Pastorek will grow unfettered  by invasives or noxious weeds. Only time will tell at this point, the challenge now will be finding a weather window conducive to the last dirt work/ seeding.

First few passes with the disk on the left, on the right the carpet of Rice-Field Sedge and mixed Sesbania. Nearly all other species seem to have been killed off by herbicide and disk treatments...this is all thats left.

First plot all disked up again....I'll hit it with roundup one more time before seeding if weather permits.

Second plot after two treatments before third disk.

Getting started on third round of disking.

Slow going! Takes me three passes to turn the ground sufficiently.

Some hours later....second plot half done.

On another note, I'm excited to see the cool weather and looking forward to upping my bird list for the property. Last I checked it was at 92.....I guess that count officially started two years ago and should be quite a bit higher. There are lots I have heard but not positively identified, most of the 91 thus far I  photographed so there is no question. I'm really learning as I go. I got two Great Horned Owls this evening as was walking to my truck (Nov 16, 2013)! Whew hooo!

Prairie Plots Prep Time !! Round one !!! Done !!

Finished the first round of preparation on the three prairie restoration plots (see Prairie page), which consisted of about two months of bush hogging, then waiting several weeks, then spraying a RoundUp/ 2-4-D treatment, then waiting several weeks, then disking each tract, then waiting a few weeks and disking them a second time. I will repeat the process (minus the bush hogging) once more and then sow the prairie seeds sometime hopefully in mid November.  The goal is to get rid of the noxious and invasives so the natives we'll plant will have better survivability.

Eastern portion of pipeline Right Of Way...soon to be prairie plot. 14 September 2013.

Any reason to get in the pond......

July 28 2013....
       A couple of weeks ago I felled a couple of tallow trees (poisoned the stumps) cut the bottoms to as sharp of a point as I could with a chain saw, and pruned the tops back to be used as bird perches out in the middle of the big pond. A weekend later I hopped in the pond and dragged one out to the middle and stood it up and tried my best to get it to stick upright in the mud.....not even close....... the bottom of the pond is just too firm. So I hauled it back to the bank and left it....until today. Today I brought a post hole digger!!! I drove to the property and sprayed my first herbicide application on the three soon to be prairie plots. By the time I was done spraying I was dying to hop into the cool waters of the pond. I pulled the post hole digger out and waded out to the middle of the pond and commenced diggin a hole......under the water ........not the easiest task but at least every time I hit redline and thought I was gonna overheat all I had to do was take a seat and cool off. Well, in no time I had two holes about four feet deep  so I stood up the two trees and low and behold, they stood up and stayed up...pretty sturdy too.
I'm gonna try to add at least two every time I go until it gets cold to make a nice little rookery spot.