It’s easy to see why Audubon visited this area; egrets and herons abound in the swamps, inlets, and bayous of southern Louisiana. The roseate spoonbills are unusually beautiful, though they nest deeper in the forest and were hard to capture on camera. Owls were camouflaged on their perches. Alligators, and snakes seemed docile, but this might have been due to the cool temperatures in early April. We took a swamp tour of a part of Lake Martin in Breaux Bridge, walked along the paths in Jungle Gardens, Avery Island, and were amazed at the hoards of egrets nesting in Bird City (the gardens and bird sanctuary were both developed by Edward Avery McIlhenny, manufacturer of Tabasco sauce). On our last days in the New Orleans area we went to the Barataria Preserve, a part of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve and walked in Audubon Park in Uptown.