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The Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival
The Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival was first established in 1997 by several nature organizations dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Grand Isle’s chenier habitat. The idea for the project of preserving and establishing the chenier habitat in order for tourists and bird watchers to see the migratory birds was first established by the Grand Isle Community Development Team. The project was then picked up a year later by the Barataria-Terrebonne Nation Estuary Program to help in the development and preservation of the habitat as well as the advertisement of the Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival.

Originally, the festival was held on a single day, but due to increased popularity and funding, the festival has grown into a three-day event. Sponsors of the Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival believe that future efforts will be more successful if more people are educated about not only the identification of the birds that migrate through the island, but also the identification and importance of the plants the birds utilize. Each day during the festival, multiple tours are giving throughout the diverse habitats of Grand Isle where experienced guides instruct beginner birders on the different techniques used to find and indentify birds as well as the ecological aspects of the island. Other tours are offered that guide visitors through the chenier forests and teach them about the native plants found on the island, including the species that are not only edible to birds but to people as well. Other features of the festival include bird banding and mist netting demonstrations, seminars on what to look for when choosing a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, as well as games and other activities.

Described as a barrier island, Grand Isle consists of mainly marsh habitat, beaches and chenier forests which attract numerous species of migratory birds. The presence of these hardwood forests allow for the seasonal arrival and departure of major flocks of birds that migrate across the Gulf of Mexico to South America during both the fall and spring migrations. The Migratory Bird Festival is held annually and coincides with the arrival of the spring migrants returning from their winter habitat in the south.

Chenier Habitat

Chenier habitats are not limited to Grand Isle, but were historically found in wetlands throughout the south-eastern coasts of Louisiana called the Chenier Plain. Today, the Chenier Plain consists of uplands, wetlands, and open water that extends from Vermillion Bay, Louisiana to East Bay, Texas. Of the original 500,000 acres that had existed, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 square acres remain. Chenier forests consist of hardwood trees, primarily oaks and hackberries, as well as a variety of other vegetation such as mulberry, honeylocust, water oak, green ash, and American elm, all which grow along slightly elevated ridges. These ridges are the result of the build up of sediment from periodical shifts of the Mississippi River’s delta and can range in size from 1 to 3 meters high and between 30 and 450 meters wide. Because of the slightly higher elevation, chenier forests not only allow for the growth of hardwood trees that support the variety of migratory birds that pass through Grand Isle, but cheniers also act as a barrier for salt water intrusion into a marsh during storm surges. Typically, marshes that are north of a chenier are less saline than marshes that are closer to the gulf.

The cover of a chenier forest provides for migratory birds a place to rest before or after making the flight across the Gulf of Mexico and in some species of birds, the habitat is essential for breeding. However some studies suggest that it is not just the cover that habitats like chenier forests provide that attract migratory birds, but it is the food availability that is the principle factor in migratory bird stopover. Stopover is a term used for when flocks of migratory birds pause in a certain area to rest and/or feed. Studies have shown that significant stopover occurs more frequently as flocks of migratory birds near the coast. There is a correlation between large densities of birds occurring in continuous hardwood forests, such as old-growth cheniers. Studies done on forest cover indicate that as the amount of cover increased, arthropod abundance and the presence of fleshy, fruit bearing vegetation increased as well, and that migratory birds use forest cover as an indicator of greater habitat quality, thus a better food source per impending journey across the Gulf of Mexico.

The Grand Isle Birding Trail

The birding trails along Grand Isle consists of nearly sixty acres of marsh and chenier habitat and are divided up into six tracts that are managed by The Louisiana Nature Conservancy and the Grand Isle Community Development Team. The trails mainly consist of tracts procured by the Grand Isle Nature Conservancy or donated by local landowners. However, because some of the boundaries of the tracts are partially fragmented, the chenier habitat can sometimes expand into private property. But due to the increased popularity of the Migratory Bird Festival, private landowners will generally allow bird watchers and ornithologists permission onto their land. Some residents will go as far as to post signs that say “Bird Friendly” as a way to invite bird watchers onto their property. The Grilleta Tract was established by a donation of ten acres by the Xavier Grilleta of B&G Services in 1998. In 2001, an additional three acres were acquired that were adjacent to the original property. Although slightly smaller than the Port Commission Marsh, the Grilleta Tract and the tract is mostly comprised of chenier habitat and is considered the center of the Grand Isle Birding Trail. This stand of forest is one of the only two undisturbed chenier forests that still exist on the island. In addition to live oaks, in which a select few are over 125 years old, the area supports a variety of trees and shrubs such as red mulberry, black willow, red bay.

The Grand Isle Port Commission Tract is roughly twenty-two acres and is located on the western part of the island at the corner of Ludwig Lane. Two hundred-eighty feet of boardwalk allow access to the salt marsh tidal ponds that dominate the area. In this tract, birders can spot a variety of passerines, raptors, colonial birds roosting in the sparse chenier habitat, and wading birds. The second largest stretch of forest is a combination of the Maples tract and the Landry-Leblanc tract. Because of its in the vicinity of a local grocery store, it is locally named the Sureway Woods. Together, the Maples tract and the Landry-LeBlanc tract, comprise of twenty acres of chenier forest.

The remaining two tracts on the island consists of the Cemetery Woods which is property of Louisiana State University and the Govan Tract. The Cemetery Woods is roughly four and a half acres and like the Grilleta Tract, it contains old growth trees which are over 125 years old. In addition to the hardwood forest, the property contains salt flats and marshland which promote the habitation of ducks, moorhens, grebes, and other wading birds. The Govan Tract was donated by the Govan family to the Nature Conservancy in 2003. Originally, the land had belonged to the Govan family since the late 1800’s. The tract only consists of half an acre, but within the tract, the mass availability of lives oaks, hackberries, dewberry, and poison oak attract birds such as painted buntings, red-winged blackbirds, warblers, and other passerines that can been seen during the migratory season.

In addition to The Grand Isle Birding Trail, bird watchers can also see marine birds such as gulls, terns, pelicans, and other shorebirds from the Grand Isle State Park located at the north-east end of the island.

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