Article Image Alt Text

Large populations of white pelicans winter in St. Mary Parish annually. These white pelicans were sitting on the pylons near Humble Canal in East Cote Blanche Bay. (Submitted Photo/Courtesy of John K. Flores)

Now’s the time for winter bird watching

By JOHN K. FLORES Outdoor Columnist

Like countless times before at this time of year, last week I found myself perched in a deer stand high above the marsh experiencing the morning come to life. Moreover, like countless times before, I also tried to convince myself I was there for a specific purpose and had the license in my wallet to prove it.
In all honesty, there is a certain amount of denial taking place when you’re concentrating on the gentle roll of a 100 slender yellow-colored willow leaves falling to the ground. They tickle the exposed tips of naked twigs and branches sounding much like soft percussion on the edge of a snare drum. You tell yourself, “Pay attention. Deer are crepuscular creatures and you could miss their early movement.” In truth, you don’t really care.
When I engaged eye to eye with a yellow rumped warbler, mentally saying to it, “Welcome home for the winter,” I knew I had to be truthful to myself. I wasn’t deer hunting anymore. I was bird watching, because a short time later, I was mesmerized by the blue hue coloration of an American kestrel.
Moments later, I watched the sun glisten and enrich the rusty orange color on the breast feathers of a flock of robins passing over, noting they were the first I’d seen so far this year.
I became interested in an eastern phoebe scratching the bark of a swamp maple hoping to rustle up a sleeping insect for breakfast. An eastern kingbird staked a claim in the cattails in front of my stand. A blue heron lifted from the edge of the canal bank behind me and glided to the opposite side in hopes of snatching some baitfish near the surface of the water.
A flock of white pelicans slowly flapped their wings then glided southward to the open waters of East Cote Blanche Bay. The pelican’s feathers in the morning sky glistened with the sun on them. I swear it was the purist white I ever saw.
A group of juvenile roseate spoonbills shuffled their feet in the shallow water on the edge of the bayou. Their bills swept side-to-side scooping up minnows and other invertebrates they stirred up in the mud and sand. Lesser egrets took advantage of the hard work, often piercing their own breakfast before the spoonbills got a chance.
If this bird watching from my deer stand wasn’t enough, I also happened to travel to southwest Louisiana to duck and goose hunt during the long Thanksgiving holiday.
It was there I became awestruck.
I have lived in Louisiana since 1984 and travel to this region of the state each winter. Never have I seen so many massive bodies of snow, blue and Ross geese.
I’m not a scientific authority who ascribes this migratory wonder simply to chance. There is an enthusiasm in my being that has me convinced otherwise. But as the young people say on Twitter and Facebook, “OMG!”
If the 2014-15 winter migration of snow geese in this part of the state right now is any indication what winter is going to be like in the upper Midwest, then it is going to be brutal for the northerners again this year.
I traveled portions of the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road and literally there are massive bodies of these geese to be seen. Their numbers are extraordinary and nothing rivals the sound of 10s upon 10s of thousands of geese rising all in one motion at one time. These winter migrants are truly something to behold right now.
“During the winter migration, waterfowl are plentiful in fields and marshes in Southwest Louisiana,” says Megan Hartman, senior marketing manager at the Lake Charles Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau. “You can view recent sightings from others on Cornell Ornithological Lab’s e-bird tracker on www.creolenaturetrail.org. Those who come should make sure to log in their own bird observations. People looking for information on the area’s top birding spots can download a birding guide at www.creolenaturetrail.org/bird.”
For those who may be interested in viewing large flocks of white pelicans and own a boat, they can be seen in West Cote Blanche Bay near the Humble Canal perched on pylons that stretch like pickets west of the canal towards Point Marone.
Recently, instead of chasing redfish and speckled trout in the bay, I decided to take advantage of how close I could get to these large birds and just enjoy watching them preen and rest.
It’s possible to see as many as a dozen different waterfowl species right now in the marsh, not to mention rails, snipe, gulls, terns, dowitchers, white pelicans, warblers, wading birds, bald eagles, osprey and other raptors. What’s more, in abundant numbers, too. All one has to do is be honest with themselves and go enjoy every moment.
If you wish to make a comment or have an anecdote, recipe or story you wish to share, you can contact John K. Flores at 985-395-5586 or at gowiththeflo@cox.net or visit his website at www.gowiththeflooutdoors.com.

Follow Us