Greetings from southwestern Louisiana. It’s sunny and 65 degrees here. I heard that you had a white Christmas.
I love birding in Maine this time of year. Winter is one of my four favorite seasons. But I also enjoy getting away once in a while. Sandi and I decided at the last minute that a tour of national wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast might be a fun way to spend late December..
It was.
We visited seven refuges — one in Alabama, one in Mississippi, two near New Orleans and three in southwestern Louisiana, not far from the Texas border. Northern birds go south for the winter. Why not follow their example for a little while?
Besides warmer weather, there is an important reason to bird the southeastern United States. During the spring birding season in Maine, migratory birds disperse, set up territories and largely avoid each other. Down south, they congregate, often in spectacular numbers.
There are more than 570 national wildlife refuges in the United States. Many were established for the conservation of game species, particularly waterfowl. Impoundments are maintained at ideal water levels for ducks and geese. Pools may contain thousands of birds within easy view. Different species flock together, without a hint of competition.
Some of these ducks are rarely seen in Maine. Black-bellied whistling-ducks, for example, are mostly nonmigratory. They nest in South and Central America and along the Gulf Coast. I had previously seen them only three times. But at Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge in Lake Arthur, Louisiana, I lost count after the first 6,000.
Wading birds use the same pools. Herons, egrets and ibises gather in the reeds.
Some refuges are located in agricultural areas. Adjacent fields, lying fallow after the fall harvest, provide forage for geese. It’s not shocking to see 4,000 snow geese feeding and loafing in these fields.
Sandhill cranes nest across the northern half of North America. A small number nest in Maine and then disperse into marshy areas, where they can be difficult to see in summer. In autumn, the cranes gather in huge flocks and migrate south along established flyways. Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, along the banks of the Tennessee River in Decatur, Alabama, is the winter home for about 23,000 cranes. I know. I counted.
Whooping cranes are among the rarest birds in North America. Only about 600 of these federally endangered birds exist in the wild today. They are also the tallest birds on the continent, and I saw five of them towering over sandhill cranes at Wheeler.
Here’s another reason to bird the Deep South in winter: Some of our smaller birds are much easier to see. Many Maine-breeding birds spend the winter there. It was mind-blowing to watch winter wrens foraging in southern swamp bottomland beneath bald cypress trees. I suspect some of those abundant white-throated sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers and palm warblers nested in Maine last summer.
Birders rarely encounter sedge wrens in Maine, but they can find them in southern marshes. Henslow’s, LeConte’s and seaside sparrows don’t nest in Maine, so seeking and finding them down south is a nice reward.
If you’re getting the itch for a southern birding adventure to escape the Maine winter for a bit, where could you go? You could, of course, retrace my steps through the Gulf Coast national wildlife refuges. You should also consider additional refuges along the eastern coast of Texas. As winter transitions to spring, High Island, Texas, is famous for its abundance of northbound migrants returning from the tropics.
Florida is an obvious birding destination. Choose either coast. I tend to hit the Atlantic side more often and intentionally avoid the ghastly traffic around Orlando. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Cape Canaveral is renowned for winter birding, and it is the centerpiece of one of America’s largest birding events, the Space Coast Birding Festival, Jan. 22–26.
Everglades National Park lures me south every three years or so, usually in March. I visited again last winter, often combining the trip with a swing west along the Tamiami Trail to Corkscrew Swamp Audubon Sanctuary near Naples.
The point is, most vacationers head south for the beaches. Birders should also head for the refuges, where birding is simple and accessible. Driving routes and hiking trails organize the experience, so no local expertise is required. And at the end of the day, somewhere nearby, there’s a tiki bar and an ice-cold beverage with a paper umbrella.
