Early Birdfest

During spring migration next month, birds and doting birders will flock to the Northlake Nature Center for the Great Louisiana Birdfest. Anticipation builds year-round but will be especially steep this afternoon at a Backyard Garden Tea and Paddle hosted by Northlake at a private seventeen-acre estate. The garden sits on Bayou Lacombe and features a five-acre trail network blazed through mature multiple varieties of 440 azaleas. Spot woodland and water birds as well as early migrants and nesting birds as you sip tea. For a better view, hop in a canoe with the Louisiana Master Naturalists and Canoe and Trails Adventures to explore the bayou.

New this year will be a photographer's tour through the Atchafalaya Basin at sunset, led by Captain Billy's Cajun Man's Swamp Tours and Adventures. See the basin's ten eagle nests and their families. At pre-Birdfest, new birders can get an "Introduction to Birding, Binoculars, and Bird Guides" prep course with Jane Patterson, President of the Baton Rouge Audubon Society. 

2 pm–6 pm. $30. northlakenature.org/birdfest.