LOUISIANA: RED BEANS & YELLOW RAILS

To on outsider, the name Louisiana brings to mind deep, dank cypress swamps, alligators, crazy Mardi Gras celebrations, and (of course) Cajun and Creole cooking.  The real Cajun country is mostly found in the southwestern part of the state, and it is here that we plan to concentrate our efforts.

Cajun country is one of the primary rice-growing regions of the US and it is where many prairie and taiga pothole-breeding birds spend their winter: ducks, geese, bitterns, Sedge Wrens, LeConte’s Sparrows, and, perhaps the most secretive of them all, Yellow Rails.  These species can be found across much of the Southeast, but because of the rice harvesting schedule of Cajun farmers, the chance of seeing them here is perhaps better than anywhere else—as the rice combines collect the lagniappe (extra) autumn crop, they flush the birds that are otherwise buried deep in marshy grass.  We will spend time watching for these species along the dirt roads that crisscross the rice country.  This region is very birdy and in addition to the marsh birds, any hedgerow may have lingering or vagrant migrants, wintering sparrows, or some other surprise!

In the course of our long weekend, we will also spend time birding along the coastal marshes, beaches, and cheniers (tree islands) for late seasonal migrants and wintering species, as well as some time in nearby pine woods that are home to such southeastern specialties as Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, and wintering Henslow’s Sparrow.  And of course, don’t forget your appetite: Louisiana is rightly known for its tasty cuisine!  So why don’t y’all come on down and visit?

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