New Orleans' City Park is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S., with 1500 acres of stately old live oaks, formal gardens, mixed hardwoods, brush, and field habitats. The park also contains many lagoons, and Bayou St. John borders the eastern edge of the park. The park is accessible by public transit, via the Esplanade and City Park buses from Canal Street. By car it can be reached by driving up Canal Street to the cemeteries, taking a right on City Park Blvd., and driving about a half mile to the edge of the park at Marconi Drive. Alternatively, take I-10 west to Metairie Road and exit right onto City Park Blvd. You can also drive directly up Esplanade Ave. from the lower end of the French Quarter to the park. During fall and spring after a rainy night, any large oak is likely to produce many species of warblers, vireos and other passerines. In winter the lagoons and Bayou St. John attract a wide variety of waterfowl. Wading birds may be seen throughout the year around the lagoons. To locate City Park, see the New Orleans - West Jefferson map; a detailed map of the park and Lake Vista is also provided.
1. New Orleans Museum of Art: This is the area closest to the Esplanade and City Park bus stops. It is an open, high-use area with many oak trees and palm trees. The lagoons here contain mostly domestic ducks, but you might find Ring-necked Ducks or Lesser Scaup. Landbirds will be typical resident species, but in migration or in winter you might find something more interesting.
2. Casino - New Orleans Botanical Garden Area: Walk through this area checking the many live oak trees. The botanical garden's main gates are only open on the weekend, but you may enter the garden on weekdays through the potting shed on the side. There is a small admission fee to the garden. Hummingbirds can sometimes be seen around some of the red flowers in the garden. If you walk around the fence to the back of the garden, you will enter one of the best oak groves in the area.
3. Stadium: Behind, across the street, and to the left of the Botanical Garden is Tad Gormley Stadium. Check the trees as you walk to the stadium. Walk around the stadium looking through the fence into the trees and brush. Cherry and mulberry trees here are good for tanagers and grosbeaks.
4. Police Stables: On the northeast corner of Harrison Avenue and Marconi Drive is a baseball field, and behind that are the police stables. The road on the east side of the stables leads to a locked gate. Carefully walk around the gate (watch out for barbed wire). Following this road beyond the gate, you will enter an isolated area of pines, oaks and brush. There are also trees and shrubs near the road, and the lagoon is worth checking.
5. Scout Island: From the police stables, continue east on Harrison Avenue Across the first bridge, then look for a gate on the right (south) side of the road. This is the entrance to Scout Island. You can find pines, hardwoods, open fields, and views of some lagoons on the island.
6. Model Airplane Field: Continue east on Harrison Avenue, across a second bridge, to a traffic circle. Go 2/3 around the circle so that you are heading west on Harrison, park, and take the first shell road on the right (north). This shell road is muddy and not well maintained, so be careful. There is brushy, weedy habitat next to the road. The hill (a very large pile of dirt) and nearby paths are also worth checking. You can also enter these woods by a path along the slough or lagoon about 200 yards to the west. Walking north, you can curve to the right and explore a network of trails. As is always the case, open areas and edges are usually the best, but there is extensive undergrowth which can be good for low-feeding species. Much of this area is secluded so caution should be exercised; single females probably should elect more public areas.
7. Bayou St. John: Continue east on Harrison Avenue to Wisner Boulevard and turn left (north). You will be following the bayou here. Scan the bayou for waterfowl and loons. Common Goldeneye and Horned Grebe have been seen here in winter.
8. Lake Vista: This is a subdivision north of City Park between Marconi Drive and Wisner Boulevard. All of the homes open onto a central park area. Because of its location on the lakeshore and the abundance of trees, this is one of the best spots for migrating passerines in New Orleans. The Express 80 and Canal Lake Vista buses service this area from Canal Street.
Simply walk the lanes throughout the subdivision, checking the trees and shrubbery. The area can be good in migration, and has harbored some interesting vagrants in winter. The residents of the area have been most cordial to birders. In order to maintain this relationship, stay on the walkways, and do not enter anyone's yard or disturb vegetation. If you walk north through the subdivision, you will reach Lakeshore Drive and Lake Pontchartrain. This is a good area for waterfowl in winter. Taking Lakeshore Drive to the east, and veering left just before Seabrook Bridge, you can scan the lake and a breakwater from the boat launch, described below.
9. UNO East & West Campuses: Both campuses have large open fields which are good for shorebirds, primarily after a rain during migration. The west campus is located between Leon C. Simon Drive, Lakeshore Drive, Elysian Fields Avenue, and the London Avenue Canal. It can be reached by the Elysian Fields bus from Canal Street. The western edge of the west campus between the canal and the large parking lot is the best area for shorebirds, although it is shrinking as student housing is expanded. The London Ave. canal along the west side of the campus can be interesting. The east campus is between Lakeshore Drive, Leon C. Simon Drive and Franklin Avenue. It can be reached by the Franklin Avenue bus from Canal Street.
The best area is probably just south of the UNO assembly center, where there are extensive playing fields which drain quickly, but which may have Lesser Golden Plovers, and Upland, Buff-breasted, Pectoral, or Baird's Sandpiper in migration. All of the fields should be checked for shorebirds, especially after a rain. Buff-breasted Sandpipers can be found in both spring and fall, and Ruffs have occurred twice on the main (west) campus. Lapland Longspurs have been found when severe winter storms have extended snow cover into the south. The shrubbery along the northern fence east of the vacant Gulf South Research Institute (GSRI) buildings has produced a number of vagrants, e.g., Sage Thrasher.
Two lakeshore areas near UNO have high concentrations of gulls in winter. One area is the public boat launch at the Seabrook Bridge, reached by taking the last right turn off Leon C. Simon before the bridge, or the last left off Lakeshore Drive. Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, and Glaucous Gulls have occurred here. The breakwater just east of Bayou St. John where St. Bernard Avenue reaches the lake can also be productive. The piers and pilings off the former Pontchartrain Beach amusement park harbor gulls, terns, and cormorants, but this area is in a state of flux.
