IBWOH: Chris Carlisle.
Summary: South of Hutson Lake, an oxbow in the north end of the Pascagoula WMA, lies a smaller, V-shaped lake that my companions and I have somehow managed to completely miss in our surveys of the area. Having discovered an old logging road there via Google Earth, I determined to walk the road to the lake, then walk around it through the trackless bottomland, making my way cross-country back to the familiar trail.
I started rather later than I would have liked, and so was not on the trail itself until shortly after 7 a.m., barely beating the sunrise.
On this survey, I decided to make some short videos as I went, which I hope will add a little variety to the blog and give the curious a better idea about the lay of the land, and getting about in this remote place.
Turning down the unexplored old logging road, I found myself walking in bottomland hardwood forest typical for this area, and found a nice, small woodpecker cavity in a living oak tree:
The trail ended soon enough at a field, recently cut like the others. Beyond it lay the small lake I'd found on my Google Earth map. I bore westward, around the north end of the lake, and soon found myself in a series of sloughs in various stages of dryness.
Continuing west-southwest, I had to bring out the machete and hack my way through briars and vines. In a big mud puddle, I found some baby catfish:
A number of large oaks grew in that area, including this one with a very large, oval-shaped cavity, one of the biggest cavities of its type that I've seen in a live tree of any kind:
Trying to maneuver into a better position to see the cavity, I was startled by a series of unusually loud knocks on an oak tree several yards away. Making my way as quietly as possible through the tangle, I finally saw an extremely large woodpecker, working on a high bough. The bird was difficult to see in the shade; adding to the difficulty, I faced east, with the full glare of the sun in my eyes. Naturally, I held my machete in one hand and my walking stick in the other. By the time I had fumbled my binoculars into my hands, the big woodpecker had flapped off in the direction of the opposite shore of the lake. I could not make out the markings of a pileated, and it looked to be bigger than any pileated woodpecker I have ever seen, adding to my uncertainty.
I continued on among the wooded sloughs. At the end of one, I found this:
Not sure what kind of equipment this is. It looked to be an old sluice that controlled the water level in the adjoining slough. Not long after photographing it, I again heard the loud rapping, and quickly moved on.
This time, I could not locate the bird. A quick snack, and I moved forward again, keeping the lake to my left as I moved south.
The strip of land between the River and the lake is quite narrow, for I was among the oaks at the south end of the lake after a brief hike. I found an old tree stand there, its canopy in tatters, though its ladder and frame were still in good shape:
Not far beyond, I once again encountered the loud knocks of a big woodpecker at work.
I was able to actually identify the bird this time. It was a pileated woodpecker, but the biggest pileated I've ever seen. It must be an old bird; I would imagine the oak cavity I photographed is one of its roost holes. I was not able to determine its sex, so I named it Big Sam, which allows for some gender ambiguity. I never saw it fly off. I continued eastward until I reached a familiar stretch of one of the old logging roads, and made my way back to IBWO-1.
Conclusions: No kents, although it is still early in the season. No double-knocks. No bark peeling of any kind, although visibility is still limited by foliage. I would like to return to this area, if for no other reason than to photograph Big Sam.
I did drive farther south, and re-crossed the River on the Wade-Vancleave Road, but was unimpressed with the quality of habitat there, which was mostly pines. Houseboats line the banks of Pascagoula, at least along the stretch visible from the bridge.
Next time I am in the Pascagoula WMA, I will wear blaze orange.
Summary: South of Hutson Lake, an oxbow in the north end of the Pascagoula WMA, lies a smaller, V-shaped lake that my companions and I have somehow managed to completely miss in our surveys of the area. Having discovered an old logging road there via Google Earth, I determined to walk the road to the lake, then walk around it through the trackless bottomland, making my way cross-country back to the familiar trail.
I started rather later than I would have liked, and so was not on the trail itself until shortly after 7 a.m., barely beating the sunrise.
On this survey, I decided to make some short videos as I went, which I hope will add a little variety to the blog and give the curious a better idea about the lay of the land, and getting about in this remote place.
Turning down the unexplored old logging road, I found myself walking in bottomland hardwood forest typical for this area, and found a nice, small woodpecker cavity in a living oak tree:
The trail ended soon enough at a field, recently cut like the others. Beyond it lay the small lake I'd found on my Google Earth map. I bore westward, around the north end of the lake, and soon found myself in a series of sloughs in various stages of dryness.
Continuing west-southwest, I had to bring out the machete and hack my way through briars and vines. In a big mud puddle, I found some baby catfish:
A number of large oaks grew in that area, including this one with a very large, oval-shaped cavity, one of the biggest cavities of its type that I've seen in a live tree of any kind:
Trying to maneuver into a better position to see the cavity, I was startled by a series of unusually loud knocks on an oak tree several yards away. Making my way as quietly as possible through the tangle, I finally saw an extremely large woodpecker, working on a high bough. The bird was difficult to see in the shade; adding to the difficulty, I faced east, with the full glare of the sun in my eyes. Naturally, I held my machete in one hand and my walking stick in the other. By the time I had fumbled my binoculars into my hands, the big woodpecker had flapped off in the direction of the opposite shore of the lake. I could not make out the markings of a pileated, and it looked to be bigger than any pileated woodpecker I have ever seen, adding to my uncertainty.
I continued on among the wooded sloughs. At the end of one, I found this:
Not sure what kind of equipment this is. It looked to be an old sluice that controlled the water level in the adjoining slough. Not long after photographing it, I again heard the loud rapping, and quickly moved on.
This time, I could not locate the bird. A quick snack, and I moved forward again, keeping the lake to my left as I moved south.
The strip of land between the River and the lake is quite narrow, for I was among the oaks at the south end of the lake after a brief hike. I found an old tree stand there, its canopy in tatters, though its ladder and frame were still in good shape:
Not far beyond, I once again encountered the loud knocks of a big woodpecker at work.
I was able to actually identify the bird this time. It was a pileated woodpecker, but the biggest pileated I've ever seen. It must be an old bird; I would imagine the oak cavity I photographed is one of its roost holes. I was not able to determine its sex, so I named it Big Sam, which allows for some gender ambiguity. I never saw it fly off. I continued eastward until I reached a familiar stretch of one of the old logging roads, and made my way back to IBWO-1.
Conclusions: No kents, although it is still early in the season. No double-knocks. No bark peeling of any kind, although visibility is still limited by foliage. I would like to return to this area, if for no other reason than to photograph Big Sam.
I did drive farther south, and re-crossed the River on the Wade-Vancleave Road, but was unimpressed with the quality of habitat there, which was mostly pines. Houseboats line the banks of Pascagoula, at least along the stretch visible from the bridge.
Next time I am in the Pascagoula WMA, I will wear blaze orange.
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