A Grand Way to Spend the Earth Day Weekend!
The Delta Chapter Spring Retreat will take place Friday to Sunday, April 20-22, 2018, at Grand Isle, Louisiana; even better news - we booked the weekend of the annual Grand Isle Migratory Bird Celebration! There will be special programs throughout the town of Grand Isle the entire weekend. Bed space is limited to 28 participants; we will be staying in the heart of old Grand Isle in the “Tarpon Lounger” - a group-friendly B&B.
Sign up and pay in advance to reserve your space!
** Simply click on this registration link to fill out the registration form. **
Once that form is submitted, a PayPal invoice will be emailed to you for payment through PayPal.
Grand Isle is an essential stop for songbirds during their spring and fall migrations across the Gulf of Mexico. Highlights of this year’s Migratory Bird Celebration include daily, expert-led bird watching tours on the Grand Isle Birding Trail, Elmer’s Island and the Grand Isle State Park. Visitors can watch the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries catch migrating songbirds for weighing and measuring before release in Lafitte Woods Preserve and tour the new LDWF Fisheries Research Lab.
The oak-hackberry woods, including the Nature Conservancy’s forty-one acres of preserve, attract songbirds; over 35 species of warbler have been counted during the migratory stopovers! Additionally, shorebirds and waders gather on the beaches and marshes. The celebration is held annually to correspond with peak bird migration in April. Last year, 168 different bird species were identified during the three-day event. Approximately 400 different species of birds are known in the Barataria-Terrebonne system. It is thought that nearly 200 of these species are common to abundant at least during part of the year. Sixty-four are considered residents.
Kayak tours through the island’s mangroves and boat tours to pelican-rookery Queen Bess Island will also be offered as well as walking tours of the island’s historical homes. Most events are free, although most boat tours and some walks have a small fee.
This Annual Celebration Event, initiated in 1998, was created in part to support the purchase and management of the Grand Isle Sanctuary to protect some of the last remaining undeveloped chenier habitats (live oak ridges). Only ten percent of the original wooded habitat is left on Grand Isle. These tracts of maritime forest are the largest remaining stands of live oak-hackberry forest on any barrier island on the Gulf. The rarity of this chenier forest makes it globally unique and critically imperiled.
The fee for the entire weekend (Friday afternoon -4:00 p.m. - Sunday, 11:00 a.m., meals included, is $75.00/adult; Children under 12 - $40; Tent campers - $40; day-trippers (no sleep-over, two meals) - $25. Sleeping arrangements are bunkhouse-style - mostly bunk beds and shared bathrooms (3). Many of the bunkbeds are doubles, so be prepared for making new friends as we will be likely to fill up all sleeping spaces! There is an open-air tower behind the lodge for beautiful views of the Gulf! The facility is located within easy walking distance of Nature Conservancy preserve areas and is located just over the dunes from the beach.
Directions to the B&B will be sent after your space is reserved. We’re sorry, but this facility is not ADA compliant. Driving time to Grand Isle is just under two hours from the I-310/I-10 intersection.
Grand Isle Migratory Bird Celebration Schedule of Events
*Registration will be available during the festival at the Grand Isle Multiplex Center at 3101 Hwy. 1. Registration tables will be open Friday, April 20 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM, Saturday, April 21 from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and Sunday, April 22, 7:00 – 10:30 AM. Boat and kayaking tours will fill up quickly due to limited space.”
Friday April 20, 2018
Sunrise – 11:00 a.m. | Bird Banding (Lafitte Woods Preserve, Grilleta Tract) M. Seymour – FREE
2:00–4:00 p.m. | Kayaking Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex @ 1:45) Guide Danny Wray – $20.00
3:30–5:30 p.m. | Grand Isle Birding Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) Guide Seth Blitch– $5.00
5:00–6:30 p.m. | Queen Bess Boat Tour – (Meet at the LDWF Lab, 195 Ludwig Ln) Limit of 4 birders– FREE
Saturday April 21, 2018
Sunrise–11:00 a.m. | Bird Banding – Lafitte Woods Preserve (Grilleta Tract) M. Seymour – FREE
7:30–9:00 a.m. | Queen Bess Boat Tour – (Meet at the LDWF Lab, 195 Ludwig Lane) Limit of 4 birders – FREE
8:00–10:30 a.m. | Grand Isle Birding Tour TNC Preserve – (Meet at Grand Isle Multiplex) Seth Blitch– $5.00
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Info Booth, Crafts – (Grand Isle Multiplex)
9:00–11:00 a.m. | Island History Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) – $5.00
10:00–11:00 a.m. | Tour of the LDWF Fish Lab – (Meet at the Lab on 195 Ludwig Lane) Limit of 16 people – FREE
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Native Plant ID Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) Guide Andrew Barron, BTNEP– $5.00
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. | LUNCH – (Grand Isle Multiplex) Provided by GIS, LLC– $10.00
1:00–1:45 p.m. | Luncheon Speaker – (@ Grand Isle Multiplex Center, Upstairs)– FREE
1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. | Bird Call I.D. Contests – (@ Grand Isle Public Library, Ludwig Lane)– FREE1:30-3:30 p.m. | Native Plant ID Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) Guide Andrew Barron, BTNEP– $5.00
2:30-4:30 p.m. | Kayaking Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex @ 2:15 p.m.) – $20.00
2:30-4:30 p.m. | Grand Isle Birding Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) – $5.00
3:00-4:30 p.m. | Grand Isle State Park Birding Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex @ 2:45) – $5.00
5:00–6:30 p.m. | Queen Bess Boat Tour – (Meet at the LDWF Lab on 195 Ludwig Lane) Limit of 4 birders– FREE
5:00–7:00 p.m. | Warblers & Wine: Reception, Door Prizes and Silent Auction – (Location TBA) –$15.00
Sunday April 22, 2017
7:30–9:00 a.m. | Queen Bess Boat Tour – (Meet at the LDWF Lab on 195 Ludwig Lane) – FREE
9:00–11:00 a.m.| Island History Tour – (Meet at the Grand Isle Multiplex) – $5.00
For more information, email Margie Vicknair-Pray.