Yellow Rails and Rice Festival
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Jennings, La. Jennings, Louisiana 70546
Julio Mulero
"Yellow Rail," by Julio Mulero, taken at the Yellow Rail and Rice Festival. From Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Designed with fun in mind, the goal of this festival is to provide participants a unique venue to view the elusive Yellow Rail, a rare marshbird that migrates to the Gulf Coast each winter. The festival also brings birders and farmers together to realize the value to birds of the area’s “working wetlands.” Attendees can come and go as they please, with facilitators positioned to help spot birds and answer questions.
This year's event only offers one Festival Package, which includes access to harvest sites on Thursday and Friday (Saturday is the backup weather emergency day). The festival's typical All-day field trips to explore other habitats will not be offered this year, but participants will receive a detailed self-guided set of directions to explore sites farther afield. The Audubon Louisiana Rail banding team will be in action at fields sites this year, giving participants the opportunity to see the banding process up close.
There is one optional add-on evening field trip in which participants can assist with salt marsh banding of Black Rails in Cameron Parish using rope pulls and spotlights.Thursday night and Saturday night. $50.
Capacity is limited this year due to COVID-19 concerns, and registration will close when the maximum threshold is reached. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Check-in begins at 7 am Thursday; Friday's harvest trip will begin at (approximately, depending on weather conditions and the farmer) noon. $200. yellowrailsandrice.com.
Read about the festival in an article by Harriett Pooler from our October 2013 issue: Yellow Rails and Rice Festival.