$20

The Nature Conservancy’s 950-acre Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve is an area of pine-dominated wetland communities, including longleaf pine savanna, bayhead swamp, and slash pine/pond cypress woodlands. A trail and 1200-foot long boardwalk provides easy access.

Because of the variety of habitats, this site offers excellent birding, particularly for grassland birds in the open savanna. A bird survey conducted by the Northshore Bird Club identified over 120 species on site. A list of these species will be provided. The habitat types present also support numerous rare and uncommon species of animals and plants, such as the yellow pitcher plant, a carnivorous or bug-eating plant, for which the trail is named. Twenty-four species of plants considered rare in Louisiana by the state Natural Heritage Program have been located on the tract thus far. The most notable discovery to date has been the Louisiana Quillwort, a federally endangered species. These plants represent the only officially protected population for this species in Louisiana.

Ten educational stations are present along the boardwalk with interpretive information about the flora, habitat types, and their management, such as the important use of prescribed fire. A botanist from The Nature Conservancy will be among your guides. This is a walking tour along a boardwalk and trails that provide easy access to the varied habitats.

• Easy walk.

Birds most likely to be seen:

Wintering Birds: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler, White-throated Sparrow. If you are lucky, the Henslow’s Sparrow will still be present before it migrates north.

Resident and Breeding Birds: Great Blue Heron; Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Bobwhite, Killdeer, Barred Owl, Red-bellied, Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers; Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker, Acadian and Great-crested Flycatcher; White-eyed Vireo, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Pine-, Prothonotary- and Hooded Warblers; Summer Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Orchard Oriole, and more.

Possible Migrants: Mississippi Kite, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos; Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, and more.