The Tennessee warbler (left) and Kentucky warbler (right) are two neotropical migratory songbirds who pass through the Hollister property in Grand Chenier, where The Nature Conservancy has planted live oaks and cheniers for the migrating birds. Photos courtesy of Dr. T.J. Zenzal, an ornithologist leading the research on stopover habitat quality for neotropical migratory birds.
After managing two thousand salty, seafaring miles over the Gulf of Mexico, likely the last place a neotropical migratory songbird would choose to touch down is a duck camp. Unfortunately, high land in marshy Cameron Parish is jealously guarded in the twenty-first century and typically free from lush forests. While stands of old-growth oaks have all but vanished, efforts are underway to restore quality habitats for the migratory songbirds to rest. Somewhat understandably, area landowners tend to have other plans for their valuable properties than giving the lot over to live oaks, hackberries, and, subsequently, songbirds who might leave a melodious starred review on Airbnb but can’t pay for the stay. (No pockets.)
But in the little community of Grand Chenier, one site, owned by the Hollister family, has served as a model habitat for The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society since 2005. Despite a few vicious setbacks—hurricanes making landfall, invasive species making themselves thuggishly at home in delicate young tree canopies—the replanted thirty-acre high ground has managed to attract fifty-five different species and over 2,500 birds.
“You get this concentration of migratory birds in one place that you don’t get to see anywhere else,” said Will deGravelles, land steward for The Nature Conservancy. Some birds stay to breed but many are just passing through, including the Tennessee warbler, the scarlet tanager, the worm-eating warbler, and the veery. Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi band the birds when they pass through to track the length of each stay and how much weight a bird gains, “thereby determining how valuable the site is to these birds,” said deGravelles.
A recent volunteer day, on February 16, enlisted help for The Nature Conservancy with the persistent invasion of Chinese tallow and Chinaberry trees, which even the greenest newbie naturalist could tell you aren’t native species. “Our work lately has been to kill those and open areas back up in the canopy,” said deGravelles. “We have volunteer days to underplant native live oaks to grow into the gap.”
The next volunteer day will be limited to employees of Citgo, whose grant to the Nature Conservancy is helping fund current work at the habitat, but birdwatchers are welcome to flock to the property during spring and fall, when it opens to the public. Visit nature.org/louisiana for more about The Nature Conservancy's work. The preserve is open from March 15 to May 15 for birders. The approximate address is 4253 Grand Chenier Hwy (LA-82) Grand Chenier, LA 70643. It is 4¾ miles west from the Rockefeller Refuge headquarters on LA-82.
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