This evening I was passenger in a car on I-310 northbound, just short of the Hwy 61 interchange. Traffic was gridlocked by some unseen drama on the road ahead. As light was failing, I tried to lighten the mood by announcing to the driver that it would be a good time to spot a Great Horned or Barred Owl in the surrounding baldcypress swamp forest. On cue, a large silhouette appeared on the tip of a 40 foot cypress snag not far off to our right. I put my binoculars on it: Great Horned Owl! Its white "chin" patch fairly glowed in the gathering dusk.
Great Horneds become active at dusk this time of year, and it is always worth keeping your eyes open if you are out in the marshes or swamps at evening twilight. Another place I have seen them in such circumstances is on the north side of I-10 in the LaBranche marshes (between Kenner and Laplace).
Good birding,
Peter
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