Photo by Henry Cancienne
Queen Bess Island Rookery
Queen Bess Island is a little scrap of an island that emerges from Barataria Bay just northeast of Grand Isle.
This is, in our estimation, one in a list of thirty marvelous places, flavors, events, and experiences that anyone who lives in—or loves—our part of the world should experience at least once in his or her lifetime.
In the sixties and seventies, use of the pesticide DDT decimated populations of the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird. So breeding pairs were brought from the Tampa area to a series of rookery sites along the Louisiana coast. One of them—Queen Bess Island—is a little scrap of an island that emerges from Barataria Bay just northeast of Grand Isle. “It’s in the DNA of a brown pelican to come back to the same place to breed,” said Grand Isle-based guide Kristen Wray, explaining that each spring thousands of pelicans—plus egrets, herons, terns, gulls, roseate spoonbills, ibis, and others—turn Queen Bess into a teeming avian haven. “The vast number of birds are a testament to our ecosystem’s ability to recover and flourish,” said Wray, noting that in late April and May when the pelican chicks are hatching, “the island is covered in a sea of little white heads.” If you’re lucky you’ll spot elegant roseate spoonbills, and perhaps an oyster catcher or two, too.
If you have a boat, Queen Bess is about three miles north of Barataria Pass off the eastern end of Grand Isle. If you don’t, Calmwater Charters offers guided tours. calmwatercharters.net.
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