Motorsports Park regularly hosts Kart racing, too
April 3, 2013
Andrew Calise Freeman
April 8, 2013
As birds rest along their migratory route, the public is invited to see the Neotropical creatures during a leisurely three-day event.
The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program hosts its annual Grand Isle Migratory Birds Celebration from April 19-21. The celebration offers plenty of bird sightings, with 163 species on this year’s checklist.
Started in 1998, the event was originally created to support the preservation of the Grand Isle Sanctuary and provide bird enthusiasts with a place to gather and enjoy shared time. The sanctuary strives to maintain the few remaining undeveloped cheniere habitats.
“The idea initially was to bring birders together and give them the opportunity to get together and meet and provide an avenue to walk around the Grand Isle woods and beaches for a chance to ‘bird,’” says Richard DeMay, senior scientist at BTNEP.
Chenieres of Grand Isle are little known to those outside of the town but widely used by birds in their migratory process. A cheniere is a group of oaks clustered on a grove, providing migratory birds with a resting spot and standing as a prominent feature among the watery shores. Time and erosion have continuously whittled them away, as there are very few left and they continue to corrode with each passing year.
“Grand Isle is the only forested island we have left,” DeMay says. “Other islands had forests back in 1800’s but those are much smaller now than they were and some are no more. A lot were altered through European settlement as well. The idea is to get folks aware of the significance of the habitat and to try to get people involved.”
According to the BTNEP, these groves are of utmost importance to neotropical birds, as most of them pass through in fall and spring. In either season, at least 65 species of birds can be found in the chenieres of Grand Isle.
Neotropical birds are those that breed in Canada and the United States during the summer while spending winters in Mexico, Central America, South America or the Caribbean islands, according to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Typically, turn out for the event is good and has grown to see people from across the United States, though DeMay says the weather plays a major role in the turn out and significance of bird sightings.
“A lot of people wait until the weekend is approaching to decide if they will come,” DeMay says. “A spring day could be good; however rainy weather is usually the best weather to come for. Birds flying through the gulf will land to rest because of exhaustion. For many of these birds, this is the first land they will see in some time. A lot of the event depends on weather.”
Though the rain may not be most comfortable for participants, DeMay ensures that the birds that wash ashore are well worth the water. On their best year, the bird watchers of the event clocked in 172 different species of birds sighted.
The day is full of activities. Demonstrations are available for free in which guests are invited to watch weighing of caught birds, which are later released unharmed. Boat tours to Queen Bess Island offer sights of Pelicans, Gulls and Terns. A popular event for participants of any age is the bird tour where a guide will walk you through the habitats Grand Isle provides for the birds.
“The forest tours are quite popular,” DeMay says. “Folks may bring kids with them or grandparents and the tour provides short walks so it’s not too difficult at all. You get to interact and ask questions, too.”
This year offers roughly 25 different activities, which vary in cost from free to $20. Kayaking tours will be offered for the first year where the tour guide will bring guests along Bayou Rigaud and toward the mangrove forests in search for Rails, Herons, Egrets and more. On Saturday guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a presentation by CC Lockwood, well known nature photographer of the south. The full agenda is online at www.btnep.org.
Children also have the opportunity to enjoy games and educational prizes.
“We’ll play a very popular game where we give the children the name of a bird and they have to match it with the corresponding photograph,” DeMay says. “Of course they all win but you try to get them to guess. They all get to pick a prize, all educational products about birds”
Lab tours are also offered and a walk through the butterfly dome will provide some beautiful sights. The celebration has grown throughout the years, sometimes seeing upwards of 300 people. The weekend will provide a wealth of knowledge and experience for interested bird watchers or nature lovers alike.
“You either have it or you don’t and I think most people do have it,” DeMay says. “A lot of people feed birds in their backyards but it’s tough to explain it, there’s just an appreciation for them. It’s comforting to sit there and watch what it is they do, take it all in and be a part of it.”
For more information about the event, visit the www.btnep.org or call the Grand Isle Port Commission at 985-787-2229.
The Painted Bunting has made previous appearances at the Grand Isle Migratory Bird Celebration.
