John K. Flores: Louisiana's biggest birding month underway

If you love wild birds and pay attention to them as I do, the month of April is literally the equivalent of the NFL playoffs to birders. Neotropic songbirds are piling into the state along with raptors, and numerous other passerine species with colors that would make a Mardi Gras crew from Mamou jealous. Essentially, whether you’re a novice, seasoned, or backyard birder, the annual migration along the gulf coast can be as exciting as watching Taylor Swift celebrate a Travis Kelce touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday.
Believe me, I’ve been in Grand Isle during their birding festival that annually is held the third weekend in April. I practically got knocked over by an excited birder who wanted to see what I was looking at.
I swear the woman’s eyes were bulging through the ends of her binoculars, when she asked, “What are you looking at?”
Though irritated, I calmly replied, “Well, I’m not sure now. It flew off.”
Oh yeah. It can get crazy out there when a Magnolia, Blackburnian, or Cerulean warbler suddenly shows up on the scene and there are a bunch of birders along the same boardwalk or nature trail.
I highly recommend watching the comedy, “The Big Year,” starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson. The 2011 movie over exaggerates birding stereotypes and has a lot of fun with them.
This past weekend, I decided to do a little birding here in St. Mary Parish. I saw quite a few Facebook posts by birders who were starting to see some neotropic migrants. The sightings and subsequent posts were enough to motivate me to get outside and do a little bird chasing.
I specifically targeted three species, the northern parula, prothonotary warbler, and yellow-throated warbler. From experience I’ve learned if these three particular birds are here in any numbers, it would mean the migration is in full swing.
Sure enough, I found all three species in the same location — Brownell Memorial Park & Carillon Tower near Lake End Park in Morgan City. In fact, there were multiple prothonotary Warblers and Northern Parulas, none of which were camera shy making my outing fun.
I also met Gabriel White from Patterson. The 24-year-old Nicholls State student is currently majoring in Environmental Biology and was checking nest boxes.
White had been helping and assisting Wildlife Conservation Coordinator Natalie Waters with a Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program Prothonotary Warbler Conservation and Monitoring Project. The project has been ongoing since 2016.
The BTNEP team put out 16 nest boxes back in February when it was still cold and prior to the migration. You just never know where you’ll find science and biology work happening, that’s for sure.
BTNEP literature says the Prothonotary Warbler population has declined 42% between 1966 and 2014. What’s more, Louisiana supports 25% of the species breeding population, but in the last 50 years the state’s breeding population has declined by 40%.
White only checked three of the 16 nest boxes, of which two had clutches of eggs inside. However, from the number of warblers I heard singing at the park and the number of nest boxes I saw available, occupancy will increase before spring is over. Moreover, it’s pretty clear this little spot of land along Lake Palourde has all the ingredients to help conservation efforts.
Another place to see migrating birds in St. Mary Parish is along Cotten Road in Patterson. This road runs parallel with Kemper Williams Park and Golf Course. I’ve seen Hooded Warblers, Prothonotary Warblers, Northern Parulas, Indigo Buntings, Painted Buntings, Carolina Wrens, Little Green Herons, Great Egrets, Screech Owls, Barred Owls, Bald Eagles, and Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks along this road.
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge has more birding opportunities than there are birders. In my opinion, the refuge is underutilized. The refuge is a mix of cypress-tupelo swamps, bottomland hardwoods, bayous, and marshes.
Along the Garden City Unit board walk and levee, I’ve seen Northern Parulas, Blue Birds, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Hermit Thrush, Swallowed-tailed Kites, Prothonotary Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Painted Buntings, and during the April spring migration observed Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
Cypremort Point State Park’s boardwalk is an excellent location to visit during the April migration. This part of the coastline is a “first stop” for migrants coming from across the gulf. During the migration I’ve seen Indigo Buntings, Painted Buntings, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Yellow Warblers, and Blue-winged Teal, to name a few.
All of these aforementioned locations are accessible by car or SUV. You don’t need any special clothing, but it is recommended to bring mosquito spray and sunscreen, and also to wear pants, shirts with long sleeves, and a ball cap. There’s always a chance of insect bites when birding.
If you’re looking to get into birding, any inexpensive pair of binoculars will do to start. If you decide you like it, there’s more expensive optics you can always purchase later.
With the biggest month in Louisiana birding upon us, now is the time to get your game plan together.
John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.