I'm going to New Orleans for the Jazz Festival the weekend of April 24th. I want to spend one day outside of the city shooting some wildlife. Anybody have any pointers as to what might be a decent location?
I was thinking of doing a swamp tour around the Jean Lafitte preserve and also walking around the trails in Barataria Preserve:
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Barataria Preserve

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I don't have any first-hand knowledge of areas outside of the city, but while you are there make sure you hit up Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo. It might also be fun to take a macro to the Audubon Insectarium.

Thanks! This might be a better option if we decide not to rent a car.

I did some looking around and found an awesome rookery right in the heart of the city It's a 10 min walk from the French Quarter where we will be staying!
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/bird-island

Cannot wait for this weekend!

Very cool! You should also check out St Louis #1 while you're in the Quarter.

Originally Posted by JERM

Very cool! You should also check out St Louis #1 while you're in the Quarter.

Will definitely check it out if we have the time. Thanks for the pointer!

I just got back from New Orleans a few weeks ago. I went to Audubon Park and saw a huge rookery in Ochsner Island on the east side of the park. Managed to get a few decent shots :





Also went on a very touristy swamp tour in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and got some shots of alligators, a GBH and a Green Heron. I haven't had the time to process any of these shots yet

URLs of the above mentioned spots in case someone is interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audubon_Park,_New_Orleans
http://www.nps.gov/jela/

"Like"