I was blown away by the lushness of southern Louisiana. There were birds everywhere and the animal encounters were frequent and amazing. My favorite spots were along the Bayou Teche early in the morning – Muscovy ducks, nutria, turtles, spiders, and birds singing high in the tree canopy. For bird watching, Bird City at Jungle Gardens on Avery Island and the small island just outside of Rip Van Winkle Gardens in Jefferson Island were unmatched. There were hundreds (thousands?) of nesting snowy egrets, roseate spoonbills, ibis, herons, and egrets, plus gators, water snakes, and turtles. Within Rip Van Winkle Gardens we saw a mother raccoon and a mother peahen with her young. Out on Lake Martin we saw all ages of alligators, cormorants, herons, a whistling duck, anhingas, wood ducks, turtles, and swarms of dragonflies and damselflies. For me, Louisiana was wild and magical.

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