Baton Rouge Area

Baton Rouge Area, Lousiana

There are quite a few good birding places in and around Baton Rouge. Below are some of the favorites that I visited. More places to visit can be found at the Baton Rouge Audubon page and definitely check out American's Wetland Foundation pages. I have found their guides invaluable for Southern Louisiana.

Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center
This is a quite nice little park. It has a beautiful swamp and is a good place to bird. I saw my first Field Sparrow there and lots of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse. The people there were very helpful in pointing out where to find interesting birds and other wildlife. They also have quite a nice live snake exhibit in the Nature Center.
Capital Lake
Capitol Lake is a good size lake that attracts quite a few water birds: White Ibis, a variety of Herons and Night Herons, Pelicans, Ducks, etc.
Jungle Gardens, Avery Island
My one visit there I saw quite a few nesting egrets, Eastern Phoebe, my first Anhinga, Common Moorhen, etc. The nesting egrets was the highlight.
Sherburne Wildlife Management Area - South Farm
Sherburne WMA is large. One of the places I liked the best was the South Farm unit. The first time I visited there, I saw White-faced Ibis, Little Blue Herons, and even a Vermilion Flycatcher. The second time in 2012, I saw more hunters than birds. Of course, it was also raining.


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