Audubon Louisiana Nature Center

Audubon Louisiana Nature Center is a cherished community resource. It is located adjacent to Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded the Nature Center grounds, essentially destroying the facility. However, Audubon rebuilt the center with modern buildings, beautiful nature trails and new programs celebrating the wonders of nature. 

This handsome site is set in bottomland hardwood habitat occasionally grading down into cypress swamp. A brushy canal lines the entire western border of the property. Mulberries in spring and Rough-leaf dogwood, Virginia creeper, wild grape, and poison ivy berries in fall attract numerous migrants such as Eastern Wood-Pewee, Orchard Oriole, Summer Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, along with numerous species of warblers. 

Cypress swamp and brushy canal areas contain red maple and black willow stands, along with dense thickets of shrubs and herbaceous plants along the edges. The areas hold migrant and resident brush-loving species, including Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House, Winter, Sedge, and Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroat, Gray Catbird, and Brown Thrasher, as well as White-throated, Savannah, Song, and Swamp Sparrows in winter. Waterbirds are also plentiful along the canal and ponds, with 17 waterfowl species, six gulls and terns, and 12 wading birds commonly observed here. 

The checklist for this site stands at 171. Recreational activities include hiking, birding, nature study, and nature photography. Amenities include parking, restrooms/drinking fountains, well-signed/interpreted nature trails (including a 1.0-mile handicapped-accessible boardwalk), a visitors center, an interpretive center (open Thursdays and Saturdays 10 am-2 pm), a planetarium, educational programs, and guided tours. Trails are open from 8:30 am until 3 pm.