Safe time to squeeze in bird-watching trip

Published 7:29 pm Sunday, December 10, 2017

Maybe you’re not a hunter but you would like to be able to go out and see geese and ducks in their habitat.

Right now is the perfect time. The hunting season is between splits — the second split won’t open until Saturday. 

One place in particular is Pintail Drive at Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, south of town off La. 27, just shy of the Gibbstown Bridge. 

It’s an in-automobile drive that loops around one of the prairie’s marsh areas. 

“Just the past week we were seeing a lot of pintails, gadwalls, mallards and blue and green wings (teal),” Cameron Prairie spokesperson Diane Borden-Billiot said about the drive.

She added that there have also been a lot of snow geese showing up and some white-fonted geese (specklebellies) began to appear late in the week.

“It really depends on the moment,” she added. “Pretty much it’s from sunrise to sunset. I did see a lot more last week when we had a clear day.”

As for the geese, she said it seemed as if one flock would come in the morning and another in the afternoon.

“Get a pretty day, head on down here. It’s a great opportunity,” she said.

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For the last few weeks workers at the refuge have been cleaning off the area inside of the drive, giving bird watchers a chance to see completely across the marsh area.

Borden-Billiot said because of the water the area received in the summer, they haven’t been able to get in and clean up some of the growth until now.

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Another area that has a drive is Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, located off La. 14 on the east side of Hayes.

It’s a little shorter drive around the marsh but Borden-Billiot said this year there have been more ducks than ever in the impoundment.

The area has also been good for geese, mainly in the fields (on both sides) headed into the reserve.

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As for a report on the first split of duck season, Capt. Sammie Faulk said from what he could tell in the Coastal Zone, it was a little slow as compared to other years.

“Of course, you have to take into consideration the weather, which wasn’t decent at all,” he said. “There was one little cool snap — not a cold snap — and there was really nothing up north.”

Faulk said he didn’t get to do as much hunting as usual, but did manage to kill a few ducks and geese.

“We are anticipating a big beginning for the second split,” he said. “A friend in Arkansas told me that the weather predictions up there for the next few weeks will have the temperature down in the 30s every night and barely into the 50s during the day. That should push a few of them (ducks) down.

“Our other conditions seem to be OK. There is no problem with water and the vegetation is good.”