Drs. Bird Nerd

Spent the middle of the day in the French Quarter of New Orleans. We walked around enjoying the gorgeous architecture, plants, mules, and historical locations. We had to stop at Café Du Monde (of course), but a quickly approaching storm meant we grabbed our coffee and beignets and booked it back to the car. We made it back in time to only get slightly soaked, then enjoyed the powdered sugary goodness of the beignets on our way out of town. Alas, this ends our road trip adventures as Jenn flies back to Colorado and Abby begins her veterinary internship. Thanks for reading everyone!

Abby is already being recognized as a bird expert in Baton Rouge. Some people called her about birds attacking them outside their office. Sure enough they were mockingbirds and they had four healthy babies in a bush by the path. We assured them that the babies would be fledgling soon and the dive bombing should go away with them.

Today was spent exploring Baton Rouge.  We went and saw Mike the tiger, LSU’s live mascot, who lives in some seriously nice digs.  We’ve been marveling at all the lushness of the area, impressed with the many species of plants that grow on other plants (primarily on the trees).  Afterward we drove around some small lakes to find birds.  We saw herons, egrets, mockingbirds, kingbirds, blackbirds, shrikes, hawks, crows, pigeons, and even a beautifully colored water snake.  At one lake we were treated to a few duck species including muscovies, mallards, wood ducks, and black-bellied whistling ducks (there were some geese honking and being angry as well).  Some of the muscovies even had adorable, fluffy babies with them!  We had a delicious dinner, including all manner of shelled creature and gator, with a friend before settling in for bed.  Another fantastic day!

In Baton Rouge where the humidity is approximately 10000%. We are enjoying some time just relaxing and managed to locate a yellow-crowned night heron for Jenn! It was even eating crawfish like a proper Louisiana bird. Yay!

Spent the morning birding Dauphin Island on the Gulf of Mexico. Coastal pine forest included swamps, lakes, magnolia trees, and palms, then broke away to sandy beach. We saw herons, egrets, mockingbirds, thrashers, fish crows, woodpeckers galore, terns, gulls, and pelicans. Even saw some lizards and a glimpse of a gator. Afterward we packed the car and procured some boba beverages to enjoy on the last leg of the trip!

A lovely sunset on a lovely day! Took a ferry across part of the Gulf. Jenn saw her first ever wild dolphins (bottle-nosed)! We also saw gobs of birds perched on, following, and generally mobbing shrimping boats. New species for us include gull-billed terns and least terns. We had a laughing gull buddy accompany us on the back of the ferry for a bit as well.

Went through the western tip of the Florida panhandle! Stopped at a neat state park and saw herons, crabs, hermit crabs, mockingbirds, grackles, and an armadillo!

We will be traveling near Mobile, AL today, but sadly will not be staying to search for leprechaun gold. Maybe another time ;)

Our friend surprised us with some incredible pendants she hand makes. Jenn chose the luna moth and Abby took a tiger pendant to commemorate her new job at LSU. Our friend is also coming out with a crow pendant (above, in progress) soon, which Jenn will definitely be buying. She is making new stuff all the time and may even take requests for interesting and underrepresented animals...that are accurate! CHECK OUT HER STUFF! It's incredible! Her etsy store is Paleo Panthera and she is creating new products all the time! https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaleoPanthera

A Victoria crowned pigeon thought Abby was just the best and wanted to make baby pigeons with her. Make sure to have your sound on!

For dinner we had some amazingly delicious barbecue with our awesome hosts. After food we relaxed with a movie, homemade cheesecake, and great conversation. Doesn't get much better than that!

To the zoo!!

Also, Jenn achieved 75% of a life goal to ride a giraffe. Only 75% because it's not alive. Abby managed to tame a giant chicken.

Today we also visited South of the Border, particularly the the Reptile Lagoon. What an incredible collection of crocodilians, snakes, turtles, and a few lizards! They have a lot of really rare crocodilian species and contribute a lot to conservation. We enjoyed a lengthy conversation with one of their curators about reptiles. It was great!

Had an absolute blast at Sylvan Heights today! Saw a menagerie of waterfowl from all over the world among other bird species and spent the day talking with curators, keepers, and the owners. Typing this from the car, so not going to get too indepth of a commentary, but enjoy the photos!

Okey dokey sign.

Enjoy some chickens eating sushi….in slow motion!