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The rainy weather has forced the cancellation of the Cajun Coast birding event scheduled for Saturday in Patterson.

But Morgan City's Porchefest is still on for Saturday.

However, the event will be moved from Lawrence Park to under the U.S. 90 bridge in the event of bad weather.

That decision will be made Saturday morning.

Saturday’s performances are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day, concluding at 7:45 p.m.

In the twilight of a new day’s dawn this past Sunday, a large group of volunteers quietly gathered together in a wood-line along the edge of a large rice field pond several miles north of Krotz Springs. The only sounds heard were the droning calls of bull frogs trying to entice their potential mates and the soft low whispers of a few conversations going on among group members.
Suddenly, a “boom” similar to a large firework report filled the air and interrupted what was otherwise a tranquil morning.
The explosion was actually a rocket net launched by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ North American Waterfowl Management Plan Coordinator, Paul Link, that settled over some 500 blue-winged teal and was the signal for volunteers to spring into action.
For the next 20 minutes the scene was a controlled chaos, as large orange holding crates were deployed into the water and filled by those enlisted to help as they meticulously cleared the 40-by-60-foot net of birds.
One by one the floating cages were gently lifted onto the rice field levee where systematically the teal were segregated into groups of males and females for banding purposes.
Among the group members was Brett Leach, a graduate student from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Leach’s involvement in the banding effort Sunday happens to be part of his degree program as he works toward his Masters in Natural Resources with a wildlife emphasis.
While bands were being placed on teal, Leach was fitting 10 female birds with telemetry units as part of a study he is working on titled, “Quantifying Blue Winged Teal Migration and Habitat Selection Using GPS/GSM Transmitters.”
Though the United States and Canada partner each year in the most sophisticated large scale population study known to man called the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey and state agencies conduct Mid-winter Waterfowl Inventory aerial surveys, Leach says actually little is known about blue-winged teal winter distribution, harvest and habitat use, particularly south of the border.
There are few band recoveries from countries like Mexico, where commercial hunting and subsistence living often takes place. Reporting of bands is virtually nonexistent due in large part to language and education barriers.
Unknowns that biologists are hoping to learn more about by using telemetry units include quantifying Blue Winged Teal spring and fall migrations, particularly their migration speed, use of stopovers, and timing of arrival to their breeding grounds.
With technological advances, transmitters are continuously becoming smaller and more precise, according to Leach. The GPS/GSM transmitters currently being used on blue-winged teal weigh approximately 10 grams and are generally set to record a location once per hour.
Other information they record includes date, time, altitude, speed, temperature, and accelerometer (forces caused by vibration or change in motion) data. The accelerometer data is particularly important as it allows biologists the ability to know when teal start to incubate eggs.
Leach, a Wisconsin native, said, “With this technology we’re finally able to get enough locations where we can actually quantify to the day how long the migration is taking. And part of the project will also involve looking at nesting success.
“We want to learn more about the habitats these birds are using in the winter and during the spring migration,” Leach continued. “We want to find out what all that means to nesting — are they going to be more or less successful?”
The ability to utilize lightweight transmitters also helps with ongoing disease surveillance work being conducted by the University of Georgia/Southwest Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study Program, according to Link.
Blue-winged teal are long-distance migrants that regularly cross international boundaries on two continents. Besides the United States, their wintering habitats also include Mexico, Central and South America. As such, there is a potential for teal to be exposed to diseases like Influenza A Viruses (IAV).
For the past nine years, the UGA/SCWDS study has participated in Link’s spring banding efforts. Due to the COVID pandemic, the past two years (2020, 2021) technicians were unable to collect data from captured ducks.
Before transmitters, all biologists had to go on for disease surveillance was two data points. The point of capture and the point of recovery (harvest/reencounter). The problem with that is, when a blue-winged teal has been tested for diseases whether by swabbing of the trachea (throat) or cloaca (posterior opening), or by taking a blood sample and it turns up positive or having antibodies, there’s no way to know where the bird was infected.
With banded and telemetry marked birds, reasonable assumptions can be made where they can be tracked to exactly, where that disease possibly came from.
Link also meticulously maintains field banding sheets recording every piece of information from a morning capture that not only includes general things like weather conditions, numbers of captures, and recaptures, but also GoPro footage of the entire event.
He is optimistic that one day there will be Artificial Intelligence software, where data can be dumped into a program creating life history models.
This spring, close to 50 transmitters have already been deployed with 130 being the study’s eventual goal. However, it’s important to note advances in technology often come with a high price tag. GPS/GSM transmitters of the size, make and model used on blue-winged teal cost approximately $1,500 per unit. As such, studies like this rely heavily on charitable donations from various companies, education, individuals and other partners along the way to fund this important science.
Those interested in supporting efforts like this telemetry project can go to the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Foundation web site at www.lawff.org/waterfowl-supporters.
Link said, “Lots of people think we’re out there just slinging bands, but that’s not the case. We’re trying to learn more about these things and, where banding is concerned, more is always better. We’ve built a huge recapture data base. For everyone that gets shot and reported, I’m recapturing another one. We normally don’t have that for a species as poorly monitored as a teal. Adding this technology will help us to fill some of the gaps on blue-winged teal populations for both conservation and human safety.”

January 21, 1935 — April 14, 2021
Margaret “Maggie” Lynn Melancon Bergeron, 86, a native of Donaldsonville, and a resident of Morgan City, passed away peacefully, Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at Ochsner St. Mary, surrounded by her loving family.
Maggie was born January 21, 1935, in New Orleans, the daughter of Paul Uriel “P.U.” Melancon and Rosalie Hidalgo Melancon.
Maggie’s faith was very important to her; she graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1953. Her love for the school began a life-long commitment to catholic education, especially Holy Cross Elementary and Central Catholic High School.
Maggie was a librarian at Holy Cross Elementary for five years and served as the choral director for 10 years.
At CCHS, Maggie was a secretary of the Booster Club in 1980, and in 1982, she served as the secretary in forming the CCHS Alumni Association. She was the co-director of that organization from 1988 until 2018. As being co-director, she co-chaired the Chef’s Supper from 1990-2018, and in 2019 she was honored for her many years of service. She co-chaired 11 fairs and many fund-raising events at CCHS. She also co-chaired the 1993-94 CCHS annual fund drive. In May of 1997, she was inducted in the CCHS Hall of Fame.
Maggie and her husband Roy co-owned Electronics Corner Inc., which was established in 1989, and opened in 1990. The family continues to run this business today.
Maggie also enjoyed Mardi Gras; she was the Queen of Cervus-Hephaestus in 1954. She served as the president for the Cervus-Hephaestus Queens’ Club for many years.
Maggie received the Citizens of the Year Rotary Award in 2013.
As much pride as she took in these organizations, nothing could surpass her love and dedication for her family. She always tried to participate in all of their activities.
Maggie was a disciple of Blessed Father Francis X. Seelos and she promoted his devotion.
She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband of 65 years, Roy Bergeron Jr. of Morgan City; her children, Catherine B. Menard and husband Loy, Rose B. Brown and husband Gregory, and Steven Bergeron and wife Lois, all of Morgan City; six grandchildren, Anne B. Rhodes and husband Scott, Mark Menard and wife Aimée, Karen B. Tycer and husband Matthew, Dr. Philip Menard and wife Sara, Andrew “Drew” Bergeron, and Alison Bergeron; and five great-grandchildren, William Tycer, Preston and Holden Rhodes, Jacob “Jake” and Evangeline Menard.
Maggie was preceded in death by her parents, Paul Uriel “P.U.” Melancon and Rosalie Hidalgo Melancon; and brother, Stephen Melancon.
Pallbearers will be Steve Bergeron, Loy Menard, Gregory Brown, Mark Menard, Philip Menard, Drew Bergeron, Matthew Tycer and Scott Rhodes.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Central Catholic School of Morgan City.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, April 17, 2021 at Holy Cross Catholic Church with Very Rev. Jay Baker officiating. Visitation will be held Saturday, April 17, 2021 at Twin City Funeral Home from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., with a rosary being recited at 10:00 a.m. After Mass, Maggie will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery Mausoleum.

Our comments several weeks ago about Hank Williams and his Cajun anthem "Jambalaya," brought a note from Keith Simon about his great grandfather Dosette Guidry, who may have played the first version long before Hank and his imitators knew what a jambalaya was.
You’ll remember that "Jambalaya’s" tune closely tracks the Louisiana French song "Grand Texas" that was recorded both in French and English by Poppa Cairo.
There are several stories about how "Jambalaya’s" lyrics came to be, several of them attributing the words to Moon Mullican, who performed with Hank on the Grand Ole Opry show and elsewhere.
Keith sends along a web posting by Dosette’s descendant, Martin Guidry, who suggests that the Guidry family “heavily influenced the best-known country hit of all time.”
Dosette and his brothers Arthur and Isidore, sons of Alcide Guidry and Marie Louise Hebert, were mostly tenant farmers, but for a brief time they performed as the Guidry Brothers, and were among the first groups to record Cajun music.
Their tie to "Jambalaya" comes from one of their recordings, Le Garcon Negligent.
According to a 2019 Teche News feature story on the Guidrys by Wade Falcon, the melody to "Le Garcon" “contains early familiar elements, similar to … Papa Cairo’s Grand Texas and even later, Hank Williams’ 'Jambalaya.' It may be the earliest appearance of this melody ever.”
According to Martin Guidry, “In 1952, Hank Williams became aware of the song 'Big Texas' and decided to record it; however, he spiced up the text with Cajun French words and used … a version Moon Mullican had written, but not copyrighted. Some disagreement exists about how Hank Williams got the words to 'Jambalaya (On the Bayou)' despite the general belief that it was Moon Mullican’s version. … The origin of the words … may be unclear; however, the source of the melody is very clear. It descends from the 1929 Guidry Brothers’ recording of 'Le Garcon Negligent.'"
The Guidry Brothers recorded six songs at that 1929 session, but apparently never set foot in a record studio again.
According to Falcon’s account, “Cajun music was getting a foothold in the recording industry; getting discovered outside of south Louisiana for the very first time.”
The Guidry brothers were among several Cajun musicians who went to New Orleans in October 1929 to record their music for the major recording label Vocalion Records and, Falcon says, “some of their melodies, the first to be found on commercial recordings, can be recognized as familiar tunes we hear today.”
“But as quickly as they were discovered, they faded away,” he writes. “The group headed home … and were not discovered for almost 90 years … for most people, their music and identities were almost lost to time.”
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, "Cajuns and Other Characters," is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.