Birding on Grand Isle, Walking around the State Park

As always, we left Grand Isle on a happy note. It’s such a wonderful place and Connie and Gary are the best! Gary took me fishing to his secret place and I caught a sixteen-inch trout. He also took me out in his boat and after I set a record for small hardheads he finally found the spot and we caught three keeper trout and a bull red, (which of course was released unharmed as it was 36 inches).

We also took pictures of the destroyed Observation Tower and Fishing pier.

Dolphins feed in the surf, and as usual there were plenty of todaloo, which is a hermit crab.

They all posed menacingly shwoing their claws.

Our luck was against us and we didn’t see any, but we did see a flock of elegant terns. Renita also got a picture of a Summer Tanager, and a local birder told us of a tree called the Toothache tree.

Its leaves deaden your mouth, just don’t put in the whole leaf! Connie told us that a bird fallout happened right after we left. Clear skies

Magnificent Frigate Bird, A Grand isle Stormbird

In the twenty years that we have been visiting Grand Isle, Louisiana, we have sometimes seen the appearance of a bird the locals call a storm/rain bird. Whenever it appears you had better batten down the hatches as a strong cold front is approaching.

Five days ago, five of the birds appeared over the pond across from the Blue House. They wheeled and soared and even looked down to see if there was food they could steal from a seagull.

The birds almost never land, (if they come down in the water their feathers are not waterproof and they drown), as they have a very difficult time taking off. They feed by stealing food from birds that have caught the fish on the ocean’s surface.

Sure enough, the Frigates foreshadowed the flooding, tornadoes, lighting, and strong winds. Clear skies

Bettys RV and arrival at Grand Isle

We left High Island and our next stop was at Bettys Rv in Abbeville, Louisiana. If you are a fulltime rver, and have never stopped at Betty’s. well you have missed it. She is immersed in Cajun Culture and knows about everything and everyone. She can direct you to whatever is happening nearby and even invites in bands to perform at her happy hours.

Now Betty had called us and invited us to stop by. We are no longer full-timers but she told us that she would like to see us and even show a sample of our jewelry. Arriving at the same time as a local band was setting up, we were even greeted by several people that remembered us from our last visit, (it had been at least seven years ago). The band started and the Happy Hour got happier as many of the guests started doing shots, (we don’t’). As the happiness flowed the band loosened up and started to forget the words to several of the songs. At one point the daughter of one of the band members told everyone that, “No more shots were wanted”, and the band settled down. My favorite song was “Hey Mama and Papa no one wants to dance with me”. It was sung in Creole/Cajun and even though I did not understand many of the words it a was beautiful rendition.

Later we said good by to Betty as we were next headed to Grand Isle, Louisiana. We try to time it right, and sometimes we are lucky enough for a fallout. Apparently, a wave of warblers had been there but had left and so we waited for the next cold front.

Connie and Gary took us to the Iris Trail, the Iris are in bloom, and we noticed that the Blackberries were ripening and that the mulberry trees were full of berries. If a fallout did occur, the birds would have plenty to eat!

The front finally passed and today the wind has shifted to the Northwest. If any flocks of birds are flying across the Gulf of Mexico, they will be exhausted from fighting the headwind, and drop out on the Grand Isle, the first land they see. Maybe tonight or tomorrow morning. Clear skies

The Audubon Society's Bird Banding during the 2023 Grand Isle Bird Festival

Each year we try to attend the Grand Isle Bird Fest. It’s usually around the middle of April and often coincides with a fallout. A fallout of birds happens when the birds migrate north across the Gulf of Mexico and run into a strong cold front. The north winds tire the birds and they, “Fall out”, on the first Island or land they reach. There they feed voraciously, regaining their strength before continuing their northward migration. At this year’s bird fest, a strong fallout occurred. In conjunction with the bird fest the Audubon Society, with Federal Permits

, conducted a bird banding operation.

The Audubon Society, puts out mist nets which are almost invisible to the birds. They fly into them and usually get entangled, allowing one to carefully capture them and place them in a sack for study and banding. (at one time twenty bird sacks were waiting for the researcher)!

The nets are constantly checked, and the birds quickly placed in bags and then delivered by a runner to the tagging area, (at one time twenty bird sacks were waiting for the researcher)!

There they are identified and weighed, by placing them in an open plastic pill bottle, The are also measured for length and age by blowing on their feathers to study the maturity of the bird.

They are finally leg banded with a seven or eight digit number and then released unharmed.

It was really amazing to watch bird experts conduct the trapping and tagging. On the first day 97 birds were captured, including four painted buntings. Renita and I were passing by when one male bunting flew into the net!

It was amazing to watch the study as it was happening! Thanks Renita for taking such great pictures of the banding operation. Clear skies