bettekauffman

Swamp Night

It’s a different world. For one thing, as dark falls, the swamp comes alive with sound. The frog chorus can be deafening.

Our Earth Day Frog Walk kicked off from the Environmental Education center at Black Bayou Lake NWR at about 7:15 p.m. Once on the trail among the trees, darkness fell quickly.

Near the beginning of the boardwalk we heard the banjo sound of bronze frogs, but they were soon drowned out by the steady chatter of the bird-voiced tree frog, the tiny frog with a big voice that really does sound like a bird.

A few yards farther on, the “cheep, cheep, cheep” of many cricket frogs filled the air with a softer sound. And whatever else was calling, the deep-throated croak of a bullfrog interrupted every so often.

*American Alligator (*Alligator mississippiensis)

We went to hear and see frogs and were not disappointed, but the swamp had another treat for us. When we got to open water, a 6-foot ‘gator was waiting to give us the eye. In fact at one point, he (or she) came closer to the boardwalk to get a good look at us!

BTW, the “red eye” is totally due to my speed light, but I love the slightly spooky effect in this photo. ‘Gators have black eyes.

Of course, at nightfall the mosquitos also made their presence known, ensuring that we didn’t linger too late on the boardwalk.

Black Bayou Lake NWR closes at sundown every day. It is necessary to get permission to be out there at night, so if you want to do a night walk in the swamp with your group, contact Louisiana Master Naturalists–Northeast or Friends of Black Bayou. We had a blast leading this frog walk and will do it again!

General Interest

Herp Success!

photos & report by Charles Paxton

The Earth Day morning walk at Black Bayou Lake NWR went very well despite being a bit windy on the lake. We saw a nice lot of herps!

About 35 hikers came out. We were interviewed by a KNOE journalist. BBLNWR volunteer Jim opened up the education center and showed off the Louisiana Pine Snakes and the ‘gator, turtles and an unusual Corn Snake native to north Louisiana and southern Arkansas. Professor Emeritus John Carr of ULM was a massive help.

*Leopard Frog (*Lithobates sphenocephalus) and an egg mass in the lower left.

The Scouts were delightfully perky and sparky, full of questions and observations. Amy Ouchley kindly read out a special Earth Day letter from Swamper* to us and we all loved it!

Among us we saw at least 2 sliders (turtles), 2 bronze frogs, 8 broadbanded watersnakes, multiple skinks and anoles, a leopard frog, a cricket frog, a rough green snake and a cottonmouth viper. Kimmie Paxton saw and photographed mating prothonotary warblers. Her pictures are amazing!!

*Rough Green Snake (*Opheodrys aestivus)

We heard bullfrogs, bronze frogs, leopard frogs and green treefrogs. We weren’t bothered by mosquitos. I shot stills and videos of the herps. Some of my shots are ‘my bests’ too: bronze frog and rough green snake. The conditions were excellent!

All in all, it was a great trip!

Upcoming Events

Earth Day Hikes!

It’s Earth Day and Herp Day at Black Bayou Lake NWR. Friends of Black Bayou (FoBB) and Louisiana Master Naturalists–Northeast (LMNNE) are pleased to offer a pair of hikes that will get you moving and learning.

*A green frog (*Lithobates clamitans)*, wonderfully camouflaged against the muddy bottom of Black Bayou Lake near the boardwalk on a recent LMNNE outing.*

The first hike will kick off from the Visitor Center at 10 a.m. This hike was initiated by Girl Scouts but is open to families who want to join in. Several Master Naturalists and Friends of Black Bayou will accompany the hikers to point out interesting flora and fauna along the boardwalk and answer questions.

The second hike will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the Environmental Education Center with a short talk about frogs and frog sounds–with examples to tune our ears. The hikers will then circumnavigate the pond in front of the Visitor Center, then, as dark is falling, head down the boardwalk.

*Daytime hikers are more likely to catch a glimpse of this western ribbon snake (*Thamnophis proximus).

The frog chorus at night is a thing to behold. This hike is open to all who are curious about night in the swamp and interested in learning to identify frog sounds and other night critters. Herpetologist John Carr will be with us, as well as a number of Master Naturalists and Friends of BBL.

So come on out, day or night or both! Right now, the forecast for Saturday is partly cloudy, but protection from the sun is recommended for the day walk. For both walks: bring plenty of water, bug screen, and snacks if you need them, plus wear walking shoes.

See you Saturday to celebrate our Mother Earth!

Certification

Soil Health

It’s new! And it’s our 9th and final workshop of our 2nd Cycle of Certification Workshops.

Soil Health is scheduled Saturday, April 30. A PayPal registration link has been added to the Certification tab of this website. Please register as soon as possible so I can tell the workshop leaders how many of us are coming.

The leaders of this workshop are Rachel Stout-Evans of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Dr. Bill Patterson, La Tech faculty member. I urge you to watch the following 6 1/2-minute video in preparation for this workshop.

Our workshop will focus more on farm soil health, but the video introduces some important principles of soil health that apply everywhere.

We will gather at 9 a.m. on Marty Earnest’s farm near Columbia, La. The address is 1536 Hwy 133, Columbia, which is exactly .11 miles north of McClanahan Road and .35 miles south of Kelly Road. BTW, Google Maps is not accurate for this address; Apple Maps is.

Farmer Earnest is working with the NRCS to increase his soil health by practicing no-till and using cover crops. This workshop will be a combination of looking at soils in a field and some brief, interactive laboratory demonstrations, like aggregation and slake tests, and a sprinkler test to see infiltration vs. runoff. It is likely that they will have some soil test data and crop yield data to share.

I am not certain how long this workshop will run, but, as always, come dressed to be outside, and, as a product of an Iowa farm, I’m assuming that includes water/mud-competent footwear. Bring your own water, snacks/food, bug repellent, etc. Oh, and a cap. You can’t be on a farm without a cap. It’s just not allowed!

Woohoo! I am so excited for this workshop, I’ve already registered.

Blog

Rendezvous 2022

Rendezvous 2022 is on! After no meeting in 2020 and only a virtual meeting in 2021, the LMNA state board is excited and delighted to invite Louisiana Master Naturalists to Rendezvous in person, April 1-3, 2022.

Our headquarters will be the Country Inn & Suites in Pineville, La., and our workshops and meetings in the Pineville Convention Center connected to the hotel. A bloc of rooms has been reserved for us at the convention rate of $89 per night.

*From a fungi workshop, Rendezvous 2019, Fountainebleau State Park.*

Our program is looking very good, with sessions on doing citizen science, the LDWF’s Wildlife Diversity program, the Native Plant Society’s Certified Habitat program, Louisiana’s whooping cranes, the wasting disease threat to our deer population, the Louisiana black bear conservation success story… and much, much more.

In addition to educational workshops, field trips are offered, with one lead by botanist Dr. Charles Allen and another by the state’s red-cockaded woodpecker expert. Our own Stephanie Herrmann is leading a “canoe and haiku” adventure. I will devote a future blog post to the program.

For now, LMNA Communications Officer Charles Paxton is constantly updating the Rendezvous 2022 website here. He us also running a Facebook group that serves as a communication hub for the event here and a Facebook photo contest here. Please be aware that you must be registered and paid for Rendezvous 2022 before you can join the Facebook groups.

Please give Rendezvous 2022 some serious consideration. I have gone to every Rendezvous since about 2015. My only regret/complaint is that it impossible to do and see everything on the program!