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Birding Resources

BIRDING RESOURCES & FAQS

Where do I find America's Wetland Birding Information?

FERMATA http://www.fermatainc.com/la/index.html
LA Dept. of Tourism AW Birding Trail http://www.louisianatravel.com/explorela/outdoors/birding/

To see the whole map: http://www.americaswetland.com/custompage.cfm?pageid=125

How do I learn to identify birds?

Websites

Percevia - http://www.percevia.com/ 

  • This site lets you look up birds by name, gives you a picture, description, range, habitat, and bird song.

USGS Patuxent Bird Identification Info Center - http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html

  • This site lets you look up birds by name, gives you bird identification information and a picture.

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology - http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/

  • This site is a free online Bird Guide (gives you bird photos, range maps, bird descriptions, bird behavior, bird songs, and cool facts)

Birding Field Guides

Look for birding field guide titles that include North America or Eastern North America. Some suggested titles:

  • A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Tory Peterson, Houghton Mifflin.
  • A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America by Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun, and Herbert Zim, Golden.
  • National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America by, National Geographic.
  • The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, by David Allen Sibley, Alfred A Knopf.

Bird Life Histories

  • Louisiana Birds by George H. Lowery, Jr., LSU Press
  • The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, by David Sibley, Alfred A. Knopf.
  • The Birds of North America (Paper copy and online version are available) http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/This encyclopedia gives detailed life histories for 716 species of birds nesting in the USA and Canada. It is a project of the American Ornithologists' Union, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Bird Songs

Bird Nests and Eggs

  • Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Birds' Nests byHal H. Harrison Houghton Mifflin
  • A Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, 2nd Edition by Paul J. Baicich and Colin J. O. Harrison, Academic Press

Where can I purchase birding supplies?

Online sales of books, optics, clothes, bird feeders and other supplies:

Where can I find checklists of Louisiana birds?

Bird checklists come in many forms. Checklists give names of birds in taxonomic order. A checklist can cover the entire state, a region, or a specific locality, such as a state park. Some checklists give bird names only, others show occurrences by seasons of the year and habitat.

The Official Louisiana Field Checklist, compiled by Donna L. Dittmann, Secretary, Louisiana Bird Records Committee (April 2005), is posted online at the Louisiana Ornithological Society, http://losbird.org/.Paper copies can be ordered online at LOS Sales, http://losbird.org/bulletin/storeinfo.htm

Other Sources:

Bird watching club checklists. Many clubs have created their own checklists for specific localities which are frequented by the club on its field trips. Terrebonne Bird Club, Louisiana Birders Anonymous, and Orleans Audubon Society have created checklists for their regions. Contact each club directly for a paper list. Some are available online. To find a birding club nearby a place you want to visit go to http://www.birdlouisiana.com/ and click on Bird Clubs. Check a club’s website for a regional checklist.

State Welcome Centers, Tourist Commissions, and Convention and Visitor Bureaus dispense checklists to visitors upon request. For example, the Lake Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau printed their own, titled “Birding Guide Southwest Louisiana.” Check the 33 Resources Centers listed in the back of the America’s WETLAND Birding Trail brochures and inquire about checklists. The 33 Resource Centers listed online at http://www.americaswetland.com.

Louisiana State Parks and Historic Sites. Some state parks have created their own checklists, such as Grand Isle State Park. Inquire at each individual park. Parks are found online at http://www.lastateparks.com/

The following State Parks and Historic Sites are locaed along the America's WETLAND Birding Trails: Sam Houston Jones State Park, Palmetto Island State Park, Cypremort Point State Park, Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, St. Bernard State Park, Grand Isle State Park, Audubon State Historic Site, Centenary State Historic Site, Port Hudson State Historic Site, Tickfaw Sate Park, Fairview-Riverside State Park, Fontainebleau State Park, and Bayou Segnette State Park.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Inquire at Louisiana State Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and Refuges.

Rockefeller Refuge, Sherburne (Ramah and Whiskey Bay), Pointe aux Chene, Joyce, and Pearl River WMA’s are state parks listed on the America’s WETLAND Birding Trail. http://www.wlf.state.la.us/apps/netgear/page1.asp

National Parks. Jean Lafitte National :Historical Park and Preserve Inquire at park visitor centers in Thibodaux, Chalmette and Marrerro about birding in the parks. http://www.nps.gov/jela

National Wildlife Refuges. Most NWRs have checklists for each location. Some are available online. Most are available on site. For all Louisiana NWRs visit, http://www.fws.gov/southeast/ Click on Louisiana.

Southeast La. Refuge Complex http://www.fws.gov/southeastlouisiana/refuges.htm

Atchafalaya, Bogue Chitto, Delta, Breton, Bayou Sauvage, Shell Keys. Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuges.

Bayou Sauvage Checklist http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/chekbird/r4/bayousav.htm

U. S. Geological Service also lists available checklists. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/chekbird/r4/22.htm

Some additional available checklists:

  • Feliciana Bird List, Feliciana Nature Society, St. Francisville
  • Checklist of South-Central Louisiana Birds, Acadiana Park Nature Station, and Louisiana Birders Anonymous of Lafayette (LABA).
  • Birds of Iberia Parish, Spanish Lake, Iberia Parish CVB
  • Birding Guide Southwast Louisiana, Lake Charles CVB
  • Seasonal Checklists, Univesity of Louisiana Lafayette Crawfish Research Center
  • Birds of Grand Isle and New Orleanshttp://www.jjaudubon.net
  • Birds of Louisiana Birding Guide, La. Office of Tourism
  • Birding on Indian Bayou, US Army Corps of Engineers

Where can I get information on meals and accommodations?

Louisiana Department of Tourism http://www.louisianatravel.com

Are there birding festivals? Field trips?

Festivals. Want to have something fun and educational to do while you travel? Birding festivals and events are offered year-round in different locations along the WETLAND trail. Events might celeb rate spring and fall migration, hummingbirds, butterflies, nesting birds and more.

A calendar of events and lists of festivals are available from Bird Louisiana at http://www.birdlouisiana.com/ Click on festivals or calendar. Birding clubs are listed here, too.

Field Trips. The http://www.birdlouisiana.com/ site links you to birding club across the state and to their field trips. Click on Bird Clubs and Calendar. Contact a club in your area. Birders are friendly and visitors are welcome to join their field trips. This is a great way to visit new bird watching sites, meet local birders, learn to identify new birds along the WETLAND Birding Trail.

How can I find birding guides?

A number of Louisiana birders are available as guides. Most are volunteers. Others charge for their services. They are friendly and knowledgeable and want to show you the best birding spots Louisiana has to offer. Contacts are listed on the La. Ornithological Society (http://.losbird.org) and Bird Louisiana (http://www.birdlouisiana.com/) web sites. You can also contact the president or field trip leader of a local birding club and they will connect you with a resource person who fits your needs.

What are the Louisiana birding organizations?

  • Louisiana Ornithological Society-state-wide.
  • Orleans Audubon Society and Crescent Bird Club ( New Orleans),
  • Terrebonne Bird Club (Houma/Thibodaux),
  • Baton Rouge Audubon Society ( Baton Rouge),
  • Louisiana Birders Anonymous (Lafayette), Gulf Coast Bird Club ( Lake Charles). 
  • Go to http://www.birdlousiana.com or http://www.losbird.org for more information.

How can I subscribe to Louisiana birding online listservs?

Louisiana has two well-known bulletin boards, LaBird and Humnet.

To subscribe to Humnet
Send email to listserv@listserv.lsu.edu
Type: <subscribe humnet-l Your Name> in the body of the text.
Leave subject line blank

Use the same process for LaBird
Send email to listsev@listserv.lus.edu
Type: <subscribe LaBird-l Your Name> in the body of the text.
Leave the subject line blank.

Other Birding Links:

Louisiana Ornithological Society http://losbird.org
Bird Louisiana http://www.birdlouisiana.com
Louisiana State Parks http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/parks/default.htm
LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries http://www.wlf.state.la.us/apps/netgear/page1.asp
Louisiana Breeding Bird Atlas http://www.manybirds.com/atlas/atlas.htm
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve http://www.nps.gov/jela/
National Wildlife Refuges of Louisiana http://www.fws.gov/southeast/
Barataria-Terrebone National Estuary Program http://birds.btnep.org/
Atchafalaya Basin Program http://www.dnr.state.la.us/sec/atchafalaya/
American Birding Association http://www.americanbirding.org/
Gulf Coast Birding Observatory http://www.gcbo.org/
International Migratory Bird Day http://www.birdday.org/
LSU Museum of Natural Science http://www.museum.lsu.edu
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
Audubon Society http://www.audubon.org
Christmas Bird Count and Great Backyard Bird Count http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/ and http://www.birdsource.org/
National Wildlife Fede ration Backyard Wildlife Habitat http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife http://www.fws.gov