Paul's Grand Isle Bird Fest (part 3)

Previously on The Year of Birds: Paul was in New Orleans for a conference, but took a side trip one day to see birds, and guess what? He found some! Now, we start the third, and final, chapter in a series we like to call "Paul's Grand Isle Bird Fest"

The beach was well behind us and we headed to the Sureway Supermarket, behind which there are some woods that birds are often seen. And groceries. Migrants sometimes fall into these wooded areas after a long trip north or south, but the lack of migrants at this time of year made this more of a long shot. However, we quickly saw a first bird!

Another mockingbird.

After traipsing through a nice woodlot, we heard some more birds in the distance but only saw two or three squirrels. There were really no birds around (besides a stray pelican soaring) which, sadly, was our sign to keep moving.

Grand Isle, Louisiana

Paul's Grand Isle Bird Fest (part 2)

Previously, Paul ventured away from the ASLO conference to see some birds. He drove for awhile and saw some birds, but will he ever get to his destination of Grand Isle? What birds will he see? We join the story with our hero and wife still journeying and still full of birding excitement...

After crossing the really long bridge that takes you over extensive coastal marshland, Grand Isle was in striking distance! We made a quick stop at a gas station to buy some snacks and there, in the parking lot, was some gull or tern-like bird. It seemed too small to be a gull (as the ring-billed gull next to it was much larger), but it had an all black head...it was a laughing gull (bird no. 6 for the trip!).

Paul's Grand Isle Bird Fest (part 1)

I have been lagging behind Damon on the bird count, probably because I live in Peterborough and because he is a far better birder than I am. So to even things up I decided to take a quick trip to add birds to my list. New Orleans here I come!