Louisianna 2003 (1 Viewer)

Gaga · Jan 16, 2004

Here is my Louisianna trip list, from 26 September to 2 October, 2003. I was there for the AOU conference. Two hurricanes while I was there!!! I went to New Orleans, Big Branch Marsh, Pearl River, and Cameron county. My favorite place was Cameron; I saw all the herons and egrets at that place! Can't wait for my next time there!!!

Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Magnificent Frigatebird

Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Turkey Vulture

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Mallard

Mississippi Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk

Common Moorhen, American Coot, American Golden-Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper

Laughing Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Forster's Tern, Black Tern, Black Skimmer

Rock Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher

Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Northern Flicker

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird

Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay, American Crow

Barn Swallow

Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher

Common Starling

Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Pine Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat

Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting

Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole

House Finch, House Sparrow

Michael Frankis · Jan 16, 2004

Hi Gaga,

Nice list - 28 lifers there for me I think

Michael

Michael W · Jan 16, 2004

Great list! I saw a number of those birds in Florida last month. 14 lifers for me.

Michael

Beverlybaynes · Jan 16, 2004

Jeez, there'd be 32 lifers on there for me!

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Thanks for telling us about it.

Tero · Jan 16, 2004

I would not have gotten half of those warblers right. Tell me, when you go on trips like this, do you bring any special gear, boots, etc.?

For me it is easy to just throw all the gear in my trunk, whether I use it or not. Usually boy scout trips, hikes.

very boring banned member · Jan 16, 2004

Would be ten lifers to me - but I lived one year in Cajun Country.

Tero said:
I would not have gotten half of those warblers right. Tell me, when you go on trips like this, do you bring any special gear, boots, etc.?

I prefer sandals (cheap ones from outdoor shop), also in finnish summer. Boots are too heavy & uncomfortable.

Tero · Jan 16, 2004

My kids wear these swim shoes whwn walking in water, cheap ones, they dry off quickly. Change to sandals when out of the water.

Gaga · Jan 17, 2004

Tero said:
I would not have gotten half of those warblers right. Tell me, when you go on trips like this, do you bring any special gear, boots, etc.?

Nope, for this trip, we only did birdwatching from the road, in Canada, we are not used to have snakes and gators, like in Louisianna... I only had my binoculars, camera, tripod, spotting scope, and my Sibley field guide!

Swift · Jan 17, 2004

Nice list I would have just had the 1 life bird Worm Eating Warbler , the little bugger has eluded me every time that i have been to your side of the pond.

fbeeldens · Feb 13, 2004

Very nice list. 32 of 'em would be lifers for me.

Looks like Louisiana is as good as Texas or Florida for the herons.

peachfront · Feb 29, 2004

The only special gear needed for those areas is an insect repellent containing DEET. I guess some people have fancy boots, I just wear whatever I can walk in and knock the mud off later, but I'm used to it.

Tero said:
I would not have gotten half of those warblers right. Tell me, when you go on trips like this, do you bring any special gear, boots, etc.?

For me it is easy to just throw all the gear in my trunk, whether I use it or not. Usually boy scout trips, hikes.

peachfront · Feb 29, 2004

It's safe to walk despite the gators. They're actually quite passive. I don't advise actually stepping on one, as I did years ago before they put the boardwalk up at Sabine, but all it did was jump in one direction while I jumped in the other. They are not like crocodiles.

Sometimes snakes are in the path, or close to the path, but they are not looking to expend any energy, so if you step around them calmly, they aren't a problem. The poisonous snake I see most often is Copperhead, but they seem to be very calm. Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.

It sounds like you had a great visit. If you come back in springtime, it might be good to add Lake Martin to your itinerary for the nesting waders.

Gaga said:
Nope, for this trip, we only did birdwatching from the road, in Canada, we are not used to have snakes and gators, like in Louisianna... I only had my binoculars, camera, tripod, spotting scope, and my Sibley field guide!

very boring banned member · Feb 29, 2004

peachfront said:
It's safe to walk despite the gators. They're actually quite passive. I don't advise actually stepping on one, as I did years ago before they put the boardwalk up at Sabine, but all it did was jump in one direction while I jumped in the other. They are not like crocodiles.

Sometimes snakes are in the path, or close to the path, but they are not looking to expend any energy, so if you step around them calmly, they aren't a problem. The poisonous snake I see most often is Copperhead, but they seem to be very calm. Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.

It sounds like you had a great visit. If you come back in springtime, it might be good to add Lake Martin to your itinerary for the nesting waders.

Lake Martin is a must in Cajun Country. Thousands of egrets, waterfront accessible by a car and there's a good hiking trail around the lake (about ten kilometres).

I was also told, and noticed myself, that gators run out of You. But they run such fast, that I used to keep a good distance just in case, that one of them took wrong direction.

Gaga · Apr 6, 2004

peachfront said:
It's safe to walk despite the gators. They're actually quite passive. I don't advise actually stepping on one, as I did years ago before they put the boardwalk up at Sabine, but all it did was jump in one direction while I jumped in the other. They are not like crocodiles.

Sometimes snakes are in the path, or close to the path, but they are not looking to expend any energy, so if you step around them calmly, they aren't a problem. The poisonous snake I see most often is Copperhead, but they seem to be very calm. Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.

It sounds like you had a great visit. If you come back in springtime, it might be good to add Lake Martin to your itinerary for the nesting waders.

And that's what I plan to do... I'm going in southern Texas, but before that, I'm gonna take few days in Lafayette! I will be there in exactly 3 weeks.

very boring banned member · Apr 7, 2004

Acadiana Park Nature Station (http://www.naturestation.org/) on the edge of city is also worth visiting (to meet the legendary Bill Fontenot).

GR Triever · Apr 7, 2004

Gaga said:
And that's what I plan to do... I'm going in southern Texas, but before that, I'm gonna take few days in Lafayette! I will be there in exactly 3 weeks.

Don't know if you're flying or driving, but if you're around western Kentucky, a few hours at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area or the Ballard Wildlife Refuge will give you some marvelous birding.

Regards,

GR

peachfront · Apr 7, 2004

Nearby is also Lake Martin, with the huge spoonbill, heron, egret, etc. roost. It's already getting cranked up. In 3 weeks it should be fantastic!

At the risk of being a bore, I'll again link to my March trip report to Lake Martin:

http://peachfront.diaryland.com/pinkspoons.html

And here is the photo album of the spoonbills:

http://peachfront.diaryland.com/spoonpix.html

These were done with an Olympus "UZI" digital camera (now discontinued) -- if a serious photographer or a digiscoper, you would have a field day!

Karwin said:
Acadiana Park Nature Station (http://www.naturestation.org/) on the edge of city is also worth visiting (to meet the legendary Bill Fontenot).

very boring banned member · Apr 17, 2004

Some info over outside-Lafayette birding
Avery Island. A salt dome on the wetland plain. It hosts, besides Tabasco factory (Mcilhenny), also an egret rookery & beautiful arboretum (Jungle Gardens, with gators). Bridge toll was 50 c & garden entry 5.25 $ in 2001.

Coastal cheniers (the first forest strips N of Gulf Of Mexico) are a must targets during spring migration: the exhausted warblers rest there numerously after migration. Accessible places only are quite far from Lafayette: one is at Rutherford Beach near Cameron, east of the swimming beach (about 150 kms SW of Lafayette). The most popular place is at Texas, Sabine Woods Sanctuary (owned by Texas Ornithological Society).

Lacassine Pool SW of Jennings (about 100 kms W from lafayette) is good waterfowl marsh with observation towers.

Do not forget to taste Abita Turbo Dog (the best beer in USA) & La Louisiane wine (with a pelican label).

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