Birds in New Orleans, Louisiana

If you are confined to the city, there are some spots you can try. Audubon zoo is accessible by public transport or by driving St Charles toward uptown, and left on Broadway just past Tulane University (on right).  The zoo harbors many "freeloading" wild birds, including Bronzed Cowbirds and Eurasian Collared-Doves.  Black-crowned Night-Herons and Wood Ducks will also be evident.  In the Flamingo impoundment, a good collection of large waders accumulates each evening.  In spring and fall, migrants will sometimes be evident in the vegetation within the zoo.  In early 2000, a communal Bronzed Cowbird roost was next to Cuco's restaurant on Carrollton Ave; continue down St Charles past the zoo for a mile or so, and turn right on Carrollton, and look for Cuco's on the left.

City Park is accessible by public transport, or by driving I-10 west from downtown and taking the City Park Ave exit, heading right on City Park Ave for a few miles (and past the Park on your left), and turning left on Wisner, which forms the east boundary of the Park.  The art museum will appear quickly on your left; the pond there is worth checking for ducks in winter, including Lesser Scaup (worth looking for Greater with them) and Ring-necked Duck.  A Ross' Goose of questionable origin has been there for a few winters recently (summers too?). Farther up Wisner, Bayou St John parallels you on the right; look here in winter for Lesser Scaup, coots, Pied-billed Grebes, and occasional Common Loons, especially in sections beyond Harrison Ave.  If you turn left on Harrison Ave, a woodlot laced with trails will appear on the right just beyond the traffic circle; this is probably the best migrant trap for songbirds in the city in spring and fall.  The bayou along the far edge of this woodlot has held Anhingas the last few winters; alligators can sometimes be seen as well.

500 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130 to Lakefront Arena - Google Maps.pdf

Farther down Harrison, Marconi marks the west side of the Park.  Turn right on Marconi, and look for Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, coots, and Pied-billed Grebes in winter in the bayou on the right.  Follow Marconi to the end of the Park at Robert E. Lee.  The grassy area on the left across Robert E. Lee can attract shorebirds if wet in spring.  On the right across Robert E. Lee is the Lake Vista residential area, well known as a migrant trap and laced by sidewalks traversing attractively landscaped areas with shade trees.  Despite the urban setting, Mississippi Kites form a staging concentration in areas around Lake Vista in August; look for them up hanging in the air anywhere in this vicinity, hunting cicadas.  If you continue straight on Marconi you will shortly run into the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, at Lakeshore Drive.  Boat-tailed Grackles should be evident, and watching the lake will often produce Caspian, Royal, Forster's and Least (spring and early summer) Terns, and Brown Pelican (cold months).

If you turn right on Robert E. Lee, and proceed a few miles and bend left onto Leon C. Simon Blvd., this will take you in a few miles past the UNO Lakefront Arena (Keifer Arena) on the left, with extensive athletic fields that often hold a variety of shorebirds (ONLY immediately after rainstorms) in spring and fall.  Especially check the northeast and southeast sides of the stadium.  The scrub farther to the northeast can often hold migrant songbirds in spring and fall. If you follow Leon C. Simon for about a mile farther, exit right immediately before the Senator Ted C. Hickey bridge over the industrial canal and drive beneath the bridge to scan the breakwaters there; this is usually a good place for gulls, except during a northwest wind when the breakwaters are washed over.  Many gull rarities have been seen. Rock Wren occurred here years ago.  The aforementioned terns should be evident here as well, and Brown and American White Pelicans in winter.

A nesting colony of Black Skimmers and Gull-billed Terns is accessible in the spring and summer on the roof of a shopping center in Metairie. Take I-10 west from downtown New Orleans, and exit in several miles on Clearview Pkwy, turning right (north).  A shopping center [Cleary Village Shopping Center] is on the right at your first intersection, at Veterans Memorial Blvd.  Public bus transport goes up and down Veterans as well.  By car or foot, wind your way behind the shopping center (ie, onto the side nearest I-10), ascend to the top of the parking garage, and look down onto the top of the Sears Building from there. These birds can often be seen fishing the canals in the median of Veterans Mem. Blvd. as well. Various other terns and wading birds frequent these canals as well, as well as the canal of West Esplanade Ave, which crosses Clearview Pkwy. a mile or so past (north of) Veterans.  Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are widespread nesters in the metropolitan area, and may frequent any area with water during the warm months.  If you turn left on Veterans and follow it for several miles, you will see a left turn to Lafreniere Park immediately after passing under the interstate.  Drive the circular park road within the park, and you will find a boardwalk winding its way through a marshy spot on the edge of the lake.  Various egrets and White Ibis roost here in winter (and summer?) at night; Lesser Scaup and coots inhabit the pond.

City Park -  Couturie Forest  &  New Orleans Botanical Garden.
City Park -  introduction & resources   Map

City Park Calendar of Events

http://neworleanscitypark.com/calendar.html

AudubonInstitute.org

Audubon Nature Institute is a 501(c)3 not for profit that operates a family of museums and parks
dedicated to nature. These New Orleans facilities include:
Audubon Park, Audubon Zoo, Woldenberg Riverfront Park (pic1), Audubon Aquarium of the Americas,
Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, Entergy IMAX® Theatre,
Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species,
Audubon Wilderness Park, Audubon Insectarium and Audubon Nature Institute Foundation.

Audubon Park (free) - Ochsner Island (more commonly known as Bird Island)   YouTube

Audubon Zoo
   - Using Public Transportation   
   - opening:
      -- Tuesday - Friday | 10am - 4pm
      -- Saturday - Sunday | 10am - 5pm
   - fb  
   - Ron Forman, Audubon Nature Institute President and CEO, 38 years ago (1973) came to the rescue of a zoo that was so run-down that the New York Times infamously called it an "animal ghetto" – and that was in 1958.    

Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium map   website   Groupon   hr: "Hours on Google are incorrect. It is open 10-5 everyday but Monday."

Member rate

Katie Smith
Audubon Nature Institute
504-378-2693 (office) / 504-278-0542 (cell)
ksmith@auduboninstitute.org

Planning:

Sat - City Park

Sun am -

Sun pm - Sheraton (500 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130) / Audubon Zoo and Park (better early departure from ship)

Mon - early morning / evening (Woldenberg Riverfront Park.  alert: tends to have litter and panhandlers.) - Swamp boat trip + Plantation

Tue before leaving - Aquarium [Tuesday - Sunday | 10am - 5pm]

swampBoatTour.xps 

Cajun Pride Tours – LaPlace

http://www.cajunprideswamptours.com/swamp_tours.htm  

Swamp Tour by Tour Boat
without Transportation
Approximately 1.5-hour swamp tour by boat. We suggest arrival 15 minutes prior to tour time.

* 4:15pm Tour is Seasonal April 1 – October 1
Call to Verify Availability

Rent a Car in New Orleans  

Here's an important thing to remember as you drive your rental car around New Orleans: When crossing St. Charles Avenue, don't linger on the median (or "neutral ground" as the locals call it) because that's where the streetcar tracks are. The streetcars cannot stop on a dime and have been known to collide with vehicles—rental cars and others. Another thing to remember is that Lafayette—the heart of French Louisiana is a 2-hour drive west. Whether you pick up your rental car at the airport or from one of the many car rental companies in town, you will find some useful information below to help you get the right rental car for the right price.