Saturday, April 16 – 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM                        $25

We start on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain at Howze Beach.  Possible species include a variety of egrets, herons and ducks. Also loggerhead shrikes are usually there along with eastern meadowlarks, barn swallows and possibly cliff swallows. There are usually one or two ospreys and also seen are black-necked stilts. Of course, there is always room for a surprise at this Hotspot.  See the species reported at Howze Beach in April over the past 10 years at http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L1268893/last10/4 It has a record of 158 species for a full year.

This will be the first stop of two locations. The hotspot area is large, so we will bird at two of the better areas - a large pond that is usually host to several species, then bird the fields near the marina.  Unless birding is so good that we do not want to leave, we will take a short drive to the south.

We then head south to bird at Madere Marsh. The lush marsh grasses of Madere Marsh, located within the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, are a haven for migratory birds and waterfowl. It is also one of the best locations on the refuge to view alligators because of the marsh grasses. The viewing area at the end of the short boardwalk offers an excellent vantage point amid the lush grasses for viewing a variety of birds.

There is not a specific Madere Marsh Hotspot report but you can see from the Bayou Sauvage report at http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L727192/last10/4 that the area is quite productive.  We have chosen this portion of the Refuge because of the typical variety of birds seen here.

¨      Boardwalks, trails, roads, and clearings; easy access

Common residents: White Ibis; Great Blue, Tricolored, Yellow-crowned Night, Black-crowned Night, Green, and Little Blue Herons; Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets; Pileated Woodpecker; Osprey; Prothonotary Warbler

Migrants: Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird, Summer Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Orchard Oriole, and many warblers.