Illustration
State guide
When to catch Louisianathrough the year
We follow 4 places in Louisiana for spring migration, wildlife by season, winter wildlife and wildflowers: winter at Bayou Sauvage Refuge and Mandalay Refuge, spring at Atchafalaya Refuge and Keiffer Prairies and summer at Bayou Sauvage Refuge. Each timing below is the place's own source, in its words; none is a forecast.
When are you going?
Fall in Louisiana
Good in fall
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeFall: blue-winged teal and northern harriers listed as common (2013 bird list)
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeFishing and crabbing allowed all year inside the hurricane-protection levee
- Keiffer PrairiesWildflowers bloom from early March through December
- Keiffer PrairiesFall grasses and composites from late September: bluestems, goldenrods, blazing stars, asters
- Mandalay RefugeBald eagles forage along the waterways and marshes
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Winter in Louisiana
- PHASE · WINTER WILDLIFEFall (September-November), 2013 bird list, then 1 moreBayou Sauvage Refuge · Louisiana
- SEASON · WINTER WILDLIFEWatch for bald eagles October - May.Mandalay Refuge · Louisiana
Good in winter
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeWinter: gadwall, northern pintail, northern shoveler and redhead listed as common (2013 bird list)
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeFishing and crabbing allowed all year inside the hurricane-protection levee
- Keiffer PrairiesWildflowers bloom from early March through December
- Mandalay RefugeBald eagles forage along the waterways and marshes
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Summer in Louisiana
Good in summer
- Atchafalaya RefugeWood storks listed as abundant in summer, June and July (2013 bird list)
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeFishing and crabbing allowed all year inside the hurricane-protection levee
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeGreen, little blue and tricolored herons and yellow-crowned night-herons listed as common (2013 bird list)
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeLeast terns, indigo buntings and yellow-breasted chats listed as common in summer (2013 bird list)
- Bayou Sauvage RefugeProthonotary warblers listed as common in spring and summer (2013 bird list)
- Keiffer PrairiesWildflowers bloom from early March through December
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Places in Louisiana
Pin color: each place's season now or next
- Spring
- Winter
Places on this map, as a list
Planning a Louisiana trip
Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · USDA Forest Service · checked Sep 30 · How we know