Fall LOS Weekend — October 9–10, 2026

Laurie and I left home a little later than planned, but there was still time for breakfast at the Waffle House in Henderson. That particular Waffle House has been a good experience every time we have stopped there, and this visit kept the streak going.

Back on I-10, we headed west to Jennings, then worked our way south through rice country toward LA 14. It was too early for the winter geese, but there were plenty of dark ibis in the fields and a few Red-tailed Hawks perched on the wires.

Lacassine Pool was slow. Water was scarce, although a few ducks remained. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks outnumbered Blue-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers by at least ten to one. The usual suspects were present: Great and Snowy Egrets, Little Blue and Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, and more dark ibis.

Common Gallinules were plentiful, but we never found a Purple Gallinule. Belted Kingfishers were around in good numbers, along with Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants and Anhingas. We searched for Limpkins without success until we were on our way out—and there they were! Those last-minute birds made the stop worthwhile and earned my vote for Friday’s best bird.

From Lacassine, we followed LA 14 to Fruge Road, continued down Lionel Deveron Road, and came out on LA 27. Those rural roads are generally pretty birdy, but they were unusually quiet that day. Laurie’s favorite bird of the day was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher we had seen along LA 14.

Our next stop was Pintail Wildlife Drive at Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge. It was mostly dry, but we found another Limpkin and some Mottled Ducks.

Then it was on to Cameron and the ferry. After a wait of a little more than an hour, we crossed the ship channel and headed to MainStay Suites in Hackberry, our home for the weekend.

A big crowd gathered at the Hackberry Community Center for the Louisiana Ornithological Society’s fall meeting. Good folks, good food, and the prospect of birding with friends on Saturday made a fine ending to our first day.

Saturday morning took us to Blue Goose Trail at Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, hoping to find a reported Groove-billed Ani. Terry and Kelly Moore, our birding companions from our spring trip to Ohio, were there too. We had no luck with the ani, but a Vermilion Flycatcher and Nelson’s Sparrow were welcome finds. Laurie especially enjoyed watching Brown Pelicans soaring over the marsh.

Our next stop was Wetland Walkway. Birding was pretty slow, unless you counted the mosquitoes, which were doing very well indeed. We did add Eastern Phoebe, Sora, and Northern Harrier to the day’s list.

From there, we made a short visit to Peveto Woods before heading to Johnson Bayou for lunch. I enjoyed my hamburger, and Laurie was impressed with her hot dog.

The area behind the Johnson Bayou Community Center was new to us, and Mark Penthke guided us through it. We followed Berwick Road to Smith Ridge Road and then Deep Bayou Road. Those back roads provided the best birding we had found since leaving home.

Tricolored Herons, Belted Kingfishers, Great and Snowy Egrets, and Common Gallinules were plentiful. We also found Wilson’s Snipe, Osprey, American Kestrel, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and Eastern Kingbird. The snipe earned my vote for Saturday’s best bird, although it had plenty of competition. The Osprey also gave me an opportunity for some photographs I was particularly pleased with.

We returned to Peveto Woods for another short visit, but found few birds. That quiet afternoon did not seem to bode well for the Big Sit scheduled for the following morning.

Back at the evening LOS meeting, Kenn Kaufman was the featured speaker. I have enjoyed his books for years, and he proved to be a very entertaining speaker as well—a fine way to finish a day of birding with friends.