Birding at Grand Isle, The 2013 Audabon Bird Festival

We were really looking for a pretty common bird, a yellow billed cuckoo. At least its common down here but for us its a new life bird and its getting harder to find new ones as our life list is now at two hundred and eighty six.
So as we started down the Nature Conservancy Trail and we had high hopes. The BTNEP, (Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program), yearly Audabon Grand Isle Bird Festival is going on), and so there were lots of birders everywhere. That helps a lot as they all are very willing to let you know what they have seen.
After passing the Botany tour,(I have a hard enough time indentifing rocks), we started down the raised boardwalk but didn't see anything, starlings don't count. As we entered the woods, Renita saw a flash of red and soon we were pointing out summer and scarlet tanagers. Males and females abounded and so we quickly forgot about the cuckoos and concentrated on what we were seeing.

One yard is open for birders and there the mulberry trees hold a special enticement for the birds. Connie spotted a red grosbeak and Renita spied a Baltimore oriole hiding in the foliage. Renita was also hoping for indigo buntings and painted buntings but it appeared that the fallout had happened last weekend.
Now a fallout happens when the birds fly across the gulf and encounter a strong cold front. Fighting the north winds they are exhausted and stop at the first thing they run into, oil platforms, sailboats and ships, and barrier islands. So last weekend, when the last cold front occurred our friends and family all talked about flocks of indigo buntings.....
We enjoyed the walk, and even saw some birders touring in the back of a pickup truck. They yelled and were drinking pina coladas, okay maybe they were just partiers or really casual birders. Anyway we decided to try another area tomorrow and so we headed back to the state park.

As we entered the park I saw a large brown backed bird with a underside spotted tail and a white breast, yup a yellow billed cuckoo. You can almost see it in my photo,(and we have decided we do need a good camera with a good telephoto).

Back at our campsite, Renita spotted a dead hummingbird below our states visited map, had it fallen dead after crossing the Gulf Coastline? Picking it up I took an image but as soon as I turned my back an ever present laughing gull,(rats with wings), swooped down and flew away with a small meal.
So today we will head out again hopping for a new bird. While I already have a painted bunting, Renita doesn't, and there is also a nesting colony of least terns near the beach. Clear skies