Special Things at Home
by Gene Buller
We have been blessed here in Evangeline Parish with so many things that we take for granted.
Some years back the Louisiana license plates had the logo "Sportsman's Paradise" on them, nowhere was this more appropriate than in Evangeline Parish. We, in our Parish, have vast hardwood forests, in addition to sprawling pine forests. These forests have always provided well for our people. There are so many who earned their livings in these forests and many still do. We have for years had great hunting for deer, squirrel, and rabbit; then there were those a few years ago that made a living trapping fur bearing animals.
Lakes, now that is where Evangeline Parish is really unique. This area has more than its fair share. We have Miller's Lake, Chicot Lake, Cocodrie Lake, Cazan's Lake, Mountain Bayou Lake, Crooked Creek, and Hubbard Break at Clearwater. Seven Lakes in one parish is pretty impressive. There are countless smaller private lakes also.
Seven Lakes in one parish is pretty impressive. There are countless smaller private lakes also.
"My focus here involves one of those lakes, Miller's Lake, and then more specifically let's take a look at exotic birds. We has, as the old saying goes, a difficult time "seeing the forest for the trees."
Several years ago blackbirds began to roost at Miller's Lake, they flew into the lake late in the evenings. They came at first by the hundreds, then by thousands. They kept coming by tens of thousands turning the bushes and trees black with their numbers. The flock grew and grew. I heard the estimate by authorities, they said that there were 17 million blackbirds sleeping in the lake. We lump them all into the term "blackbirds", but in reality there were several species of birds involved. There were cowbirds (little brown-headed blackbird), red-winged blackbirds, starlings, grackles (big long-tailed blackbirds) and boat-tailed grackles. The last number I heard was 26 million. It was a sight to see. In the early morning it took an hour or more for them to leave the lake in flocks of thousands. Bird watchers came from near and far to see this many birds in one place. The U.S. Government finally stepped in with control measures to reduce the number of birds.
The spring and summer bring yet another startling army of birds. I have traveled to Avery Island, Louisiana to see the rookeries (nesting colonies of water birds) and was surprised that the relatively small number of birds there were listed as an attraction. Miller's Lake has thousands upon thousands more birds than Avery Island. Miller's has been recognized as the site of one of the largest rookeries in the south.
There are many nesting colonies of different birds. There are Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Bitterns, White-faced Ibis, Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Anhinga, Florida Gallinules, Purple Gallinules, Cormorants and many others. There are literally thousands upon thousands of nests with eggs and young birds as well as a constant coming and going of all these different adult birds. To sit there and watch is amazing, not only the sight of these birds but a constant chorus of sound with all the different voices.
There are many people who come to the lake to observe the birds. In fact, Mr. Theodore Cross of Princeton, New Jersey recently spent several days at my camp. Mr. Cross photographs the birds and has published several works. There are beautiful pictures of these birds in one of his books.
I have referred only to the blackbirds and water birds, but there are many, many other birds too numerous to name.
"We should all take a little time to really look at beautiful Evangeline Parish."
It would be worthwhile for you to drive to the lake and watch the flights in the late afternoon. If you know someone with a boat, get them to take you to the rookeries, I know you will enjoy the experience.
Like so many things, we have become accustomed to the birds. We do not "see the forest for the trees." We should all take a little time to really look at beautiful Evangeline Parish.