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Guide Doug Hitchcox was quick on the draw, and captured the expressions of several of our group as a Yellow Rail flushed very close by. It looks like it might take refuge in the vehicle, but we didn't get a look quite that close!

The northern Gulf Coast is a bit of a avian paradox: it is strangely depauperate with regards to the breeding avifauna, yet is one of the most important migration routes in North America, and is home to some of the highest winter bird biomass on the continent! October is a great time to witness these latter phenomena, and we managed to do so despite some testy weather.

We had to flip our itinerary around somewhat to accommodate the rains that hit on Friday, and luckily managed to find the rare, Southeastern endemic Red-cockaded Woodpecker in the pine forests near DeRidder, in the west-central part of the state. Most of the rest of the day was quite literally a washout, but the blow was lessened by the fine cuisine and curious ambiance at the Blue Dog Café. Saturday was our day to visit the coast. We headed down to the Pintail Loop at Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, then on to the tree island (“chenier”) of Willow Island near the town of Cameron, where we participated in a couple of rope drags with some rail researchers. A picnic lunch and several hours to enjoy the late passerine migrants in the chenier really made the day a smashing success. This was followed by a visit to the salt marsh and beach at Rutherford Beach, where Nelson’s Sparrow, a bold King Rail, and a few shorebirds also ended the day well for us. Our third day of the tour was “rail day,” when we were to join my friends Donna and Steve and a local rice farmer to do the rice harvest and see what rails would be flushed up. The morning dawned with a fruitful walk along West Niblett Road not far from the harvest spot, where overflying geese, raptors, grackles, shorebirds, ibis and ducks spoke of the sheer biomass in the area. On the ground, a few late warblers, Indigo and Painted buntings, four (!) Vermilion Flycatchers, and other wintering and migrant landbirds kept us occupied. After lunch, we showed up at the rice field, but the farmer was delayed for a few hours. When he finally showed up, however, the rail spectacle was nearly instantaneous, and everyone got views of Sora, Virginia, and Yellow rails (the main target!), and some folks managed to get on King Rail and American Bittern! It was a smorgasbord of marsh birds! Elated, we returned to our hotel and ended the day with a fine meal and goodbyes.

Thanks to you all for joining Doug and me on this tour, and I hope you all gained a better understanding of why Louisiana is such an important place for North American birds! Ayuh, we have a lot of ‘em down here! Y’all come on back now, cher!

Good birding,

Dan

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Our first birding locale was the Piney Woods near DeRidder. Participant Martha Mickles got this shot of the group listening to guide Dan Lane explain that we would not be seeing the red cockade on the woodpeckers, explaining the serious expressions.

While the tour was focused on seeing birds, we also got to witness some migrating Monarch Butterflies on their way to the wintering grounds in Mexico. Photo by guide Doug Hitchcox.

The combines in the rice fields certainly are "Versatile", as they allowed us to see a number of rails, including the Yellow Rail in the center of the photo. This image also shows how tiny the rails are compared to the rice. Photo by guide Doug Hitchcox.

This tour is all about rails, and we did see rails! In all, we got looks at seven species, with especially nice views of several. This King Rail posed in the late afternoon sun on the Rutherford Beach Road for a lovely shot by guide Doug Hitchcox.

We also got to do some birding along the Gulf of Mexico at Rutherford Beach. This got us nice views of several shorebirds, including a Whimbrel. Photo by participant Martha Mickles.

We also saw three grackle species on the tour, including Boat-tailed Grackles, which are a coastal specialty. This photo shows the dark eye nicely, which helps to differentiate the Boat-tailed from the Great-tailed Grackle. Photo by guide Doug Hitchcox.

We participated in a "rope drag" at Broussard beach, where some rail researchers were working. Our major find during this activity was a Clapper Rail that flew off from the marsh. Photo by guide Doug Hitchcox.

The Louisiana coast and swamplands are punctuated by cheniers, tree islands that have some wonderful old Live Oaks like this one. Photo by paticipant Martha Mickles.

This lovely bird was once known as the "Louisiana Heron". Since they live in other states as well, the name has been changed and they are now called Tricolored Herons, but somehow, it just doesn't sound the same. Photo by guide Doug Hitchcox.

Testing the depth of some "puddles" on the way to the beach. Conclusion? They were not shallow. Photo by participant Martha Mickles.

You ain't gonna starve on this tour! Here Doug is preparing the guacamole for the picnic lunch at the coast. Photo by participant Martha Mickles.

Here is the whole group: Down Easterners on the Bayou! Photo by participant Martha Mickles.

And last, but not least, here is the silhouette Great Horned Owl that guide Doug Hitchcox found on our second evening. Doug got this wonderful evocative photo as well.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 129 bird taxa and 4 mammal taxa