Berry and I traveled south to bird the city of New Orleans and the swamps around it. We bought train tickets and took Amtrak. You've never seen America till you've seen it from a train. We suggest getting a sleeper car, with privacy and meals included. We rented a car in the Big Easy and we were done. Fantastic food, amazing birding. Birding New Orleans was a great idea.
Almost immediately upon arriving, we noticed the catastrophic damage from hurricane Katrina in 2005. But the people have worked hard. Some parts of the city were filled with new construction. There is still the old French charm along St. Charles and alligators in the Jean LaFitte swamp. I took a picture of this one.
We found two Life Birds, we'd never identified before. In the Bayou Sauvage, we saw the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus Carolinus) and in a canal inside the city, the White Rumped Falcon (Polihierax insignis), both which we added to our Life List on the right. Below is the Trip List of all the birds we saw in New Orleans.
Trip List
- Yellow Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
- Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
- Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
- Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
- Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
- White Rumped Falcon (Polihierax insignis)
- Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
- American White Ibis ((Eudocimus albus)
- American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
- Bluejay (Cyanocitta cristata)
- Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
- Black Bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
- Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
- Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
- Purple Martin (Progne subi)
- Red Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
- Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
- Great Egret (Ardea alba)
- Broad Winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
- Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis)
- Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
- Barred Owl (Strix varia)
- American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
- Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
- Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
- Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
- Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
- Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
- Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
- Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)
- Red Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus)
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
- Northern Rough Winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
- Black Necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
- Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)
- Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
- Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens)
- Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
- Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
- House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
- Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
- Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
- Ring Billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
- Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
- Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides)
- Muscovy (Cairina moschata)
- Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus)
- Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)
There is always a contest for the "Bird of the Trip". A vigorous discussion among serious birders to determine the pecking order. Berry might nominate the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) which seemed to graze in every open field. They are smallish white birds, tinged with gold, in the ibis family. The "bird of the trip" might also be the Yellow Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) which was almost ubiquitous on this trip. This is a distinctive gray egret with a black and white head. We saw it in puddly city parks and tangled jungle swamps.
If the bird of the trip should be the most unique bird we saw, then maybe the Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus) or the non-domestic, "true wild" version of the Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) we saw at the pond in La Freniere Park in Metairie.
Robert and Berry
photos courtesy of bshelton, rfowler
