| BIRDING OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND IN LOUISIANA
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| By Jay Huner — Fellow, Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism, University of Louisiana,
Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504 telephone: (337) 394-7508 fax: (337) 394-4152 e-mail: jhuner@louisiana.edu Birders visiting Louisiana are often astounded by the contrasts in birding opportunities afforded by the hilly piney woods in the northern half of the state and the open coastal prairies, forested wetlands, and marshlands in the southern half of the state. Over 450 species of birds have been recorded in Louisiana. Birders with average birding skills can expect to locate 50-70 species over most weekends and their numbers will surely exceed 100 species along the coast during spring and fall migrations. The public can access all manner of habitats on game management areas operated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, parks and recreation areas operated by the Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, and national forests and national wildlife refuges and recreation areas operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as non-governmental agencies including The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana and the Audubon Society. Furthermore, municipalities and parish (county) governments operate parks and recreation areas that are often excellent sites to bird especially during migration periods. The Louisiana Ornithological Society (LOS) sponsors three annual meetings. The fall and spring meetings are always scheduled for the last weekends of October and April in Cameron, Louisiana. The winter meeting is held at Cameron Parish in the extreme southwestern corner of the state, Cameron is the ideal location for such events. Migrants including perching birds and shorebirds either stage in the area’s wetlands and wooded oak chenier ridges preparing to fly south across the Gulf of Mexico for the winter or stop in the area to rest and feed upon return from points south during their northward migrations during the spring. Visitors can find loons, grebes, pelicans, cormorants, wading birds, vultures, waterfowl, raptors, shorebirds, gulls, terns, doves, nightjars, woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, crows, swallows, wrens, thrushes, warblers, tanagers, sparrows, grosbeaks and buntings, blackbirds and orioles, and finches in the Cameron area during these migration periods. And, regardless of the time of year, visitors to wetlands associated with reservoirs, the Red River, the Atchafalaya River, the Mississippi River and the coastal fringe south of I-10 are often astounded by the large numbers of magnificent wading birds that frequent these locations. Local birding clubs, some affiliated with the Audubon Society, others not, are found in most metropolitan areas and afford members and visitors with monthly weekend birding trips. State and U.S. Government facilities often offer nature programs on weekends.
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