WISN Surveys near Kapplan, LA and Jennings, LA

Today we finished our surveys near Kapplan and moved northwest to our next township near Jennings, LA.  We started out the day with this first year Wilson's warbler (no black cap).

Wilson's warbler

Next, I found 8 snipe on my side of the survey in a pasture.  The snipe all hunkered down at first at the site of the truck, but eventually started feeding again.  We took ten minutes to do an acitivity budget.  About 6 minutes into the observations, killdeer and bluejays started alarm calling nearby, and all at once, the 8 snipe froze.  They stayed alert for about 10 seconds, then surprisingly started falling asleep, like they hadn't just been eating.  In about 2 minutes, they started feeding again.

Wilson's snipe feeding (bill in ground)

Wilson's snipe resting

Later in the day, these brewer's blackbirds were hanging out on a wire.  There was at least one male and one female, mixed in with other blackbirds.  I have seen them on this trip before, but wasn't able to confirm it until now with these photos.  Notice the yellow eye, and also the thinner bill (than common grackle) and shorter tail than common grackle.

male Brewer's blackbird

female Brewer's blackbird

cowbird (top) and female Brewer's (bottom) comparison

As usual, there were many dark ibis, and this flock contained both glossy and white-faced, which are hard to tell apart this time of year.  Also in the photo is a laughing gull.

glossy and white-faced mixed flock

During another transect survey, this large flock of red-winged blackbirds was flying back and forth from fields to a tree.  Most in this flock were female.

red-winged blackbirds in tree

Also, there were many boat-tailed grackles around.  There are also great-tailed grackles in the area, but I haven't seen them yet.  These birds are both unmistakable, with very long tails that are usually fanned out.

boat-tailed grackles

I was also able to photograph this question mark butterfly outside the truck, despite the gusting winds.  This is my second butterfly species of the year.

question mark butterfly