Sherburne WMA Shorebirds

Wanted to post a sample shot of one of the wider views from my visit to Sherburne.  This is just a sample of a much larger area filled with birds, the majority of which in this shot were White Ibis.   I was walking along a small levee, separated from the area in sight above by a small watercourse.   The birds below were all on the near or far bank of that section, offering views of shorebirds that even I could enjoy!  

Solitary Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Spotted Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilt

What a location!  Right in this area I also had a roost of Black Vultures numbering in the hundreds.  I am not sure when my travels will next take me to the Baton Rouge area, but when I am next there getting back to the South Farm at Sherburne will be a priority.   

Big Birds at Sherburne WMA

Another revisit to some of the bird images from Sherburne WMA outside Baton Rouge, LA.   This time focusing on some of the large subjects that frequent the area.  

Little Blue Heron

Great Egret

Green Heron

White Ibis - immature

Little Blue Heron - immature 

(interesting that the previous two are such negative images of the adult plumage versions of their species) 

Cattle Egret

That was quiet a total for the Heron/Egrets in one day, from previous posts I had also counted Great Blue and Tricolored on that day.  I was also on the lookout for Roseate Spoonbills, but they eluded me on this trip and remain high on the wish list.  Will return for at least one more Sherburne post featuring shorebirds, but may jump ahead to Grand Isle between now and then.   

Looks from Louisiana

Last week I had a chance to pull together a great trip out of a combination of birding and photography, work, and meeting with friends from all over the country for a fantasy football draft.   I had three trips out into various habitats in the early part of the week, and then followed it up with some fun in New Orleans when my friends arrived last weekend.   This post contains a few of my favorite captures from the trip.   Above, a White Ibis from my first day trip to the South Farm section of the Sherburne WMA just west of Baton Rouge.

Next a flight shot of a Black-necked Stilt from the same morning.   My arrival flight was planned for an overnight Friday evening, which would lead directly to an early start Saturday.   But as they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men..." and that flight was canceled.    I actually left at ten a.m. on Saturday, and finally caught up with my bags at the hotel just after midnight on Sunday morning.    The drive up to Sherburne and the great birding I experienced were just what I needed to make me forget the travel headaches and immerse myself in all the wildlife that habitat had to offer.

A few days later I took another morning trip, and headed down to Grand Isle for sunrise.   More dedicated shots to come from that, but for the moment, a Green Heron perched to give me a sidelong glance while preening.

The second of two lifers from the trip included in this post, a Clapper Rail.   The other, the White Ibis at the top of this post was the first of nine I added on the trip.

To close out this first of the trip posts, a Willet who was posing as I exited the Grand Isle State Park on my way back to New Orleans.   I really enjoyed my opportunities to get out of the city on this visit to Louisiana.   Granted, late August is far from ideal, but if you are willing to wake really early, and accept that by 9:30 or 10:00 am it will be time to head anywhere indoors, then this is a place where incredible experiences abound.

Aside for traveling birders.  
          I find that one of the great parts of any kind of travel is the advance planning that goes into finding activities that will make a vacation memorable.    For this trip an incredibly helpful site was See Jane Bird's site.   She has a Birding Around Baton Rouge link that had great information on a number of locations in the area, including habitat, likely species, and access details.   There were others as well, but that one knocked it out of the park for a site created by an individual.   Nice work Jane!

More to come....stay tuned!

2011 Count:  214
Lifetime: 286