White Ibis Taking Off

Today was the first day of a short birding trip in southern Louisiana. We did an extensive tour by van from our hotel in Lafayette, which including a stop at a large rice farm, where we hoped to see yellow rails, secretive birds which inhabit rice fields in the fall. That did not work out; the plan was to follow a large combine as it harvested the rice and forced the rails into the open--they are ordinarily virtually impossible to see. The combine broke down, literally shortly before we arrived; we will try again tomorrow.

Otherwise we saw a variety of birds, including white ibises--a few close individuals close, such as this one, and many more flying over in groups. They are common along our southern coast. Note: the location I've marked on the map is only approximate.