Big Branch Wildlife Refuge is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans, showing up as the tall buildings in one of the photos , is on the south shore of the lake about 24 miles away. Pine woodlands and marsh border the lake on this side.
The endangered red cockaded woodpecker makes its home here. They nest in live pine trees and excavate holes in trees with red heart rot which causes the inner wood to become soft. The tree then exudes sap which acts as a deterrent against predators.
Thousands of ducks winter here. It was breathtaking to watch them circle the marsh in large flocks. The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, perched on a piling for a portrait. And pied billed grebes sat under tufts of grasses out of the stiff winds that blew all day. I was unable to get a photo of the bald eagle, but a pair of them made a quick pass overhead, too.
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