Discovering Louisiana's Red River National Wildlife Refuge
John F. Magale Memorial Library at Centenary College of Louisiana (Shreveport) will soon be exhibiting a series of wildlife photographs taken on the refuge. The exhibit will feature works by Ronnie Maum and other nature photographers.
The exhibit runs from June 1, 2012 through August 31, 2012 during regular library hours. You can preview some of the images that will be in the exhibit at Ronnie Maum's website.
Spring Has Sprung
Spring comes early in Louisiana and while northern birds are still shivering underneath their feathers, our southern resident birds are building nests and laying eggs. Northern Cardinals are singing "cheer, cheer, cheer" from the treetops, Carolina Wrens belt out "teakettle, teakettle," Mourning Doves coo, and American Robins advise us to "cheer up, cheer up, cheerio!"
Migrant birds are arriving daily from the Central and South American locales where they've spent the winter. They'll continue to stream across and around the Gulf of Mexico for the next couple of months. Indigo and Painting Buntings will join their cardinal relatives and tiny warblers like Kentucky, Black-and-White, and Hooded Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Northern Parula will supplant our winter sparrows, who will, in turn, move farther north to breed and nest.
The refuge trails and outdoor areas are open from sunrise to sunset and with the days getting longer, you've time to come home from work or school, change your clothes, and head over to the refuge. It's a wonderful time to enjoy our natural world, so let's grab the kids, our next door neighbor, or a friend; put on our tennis shoes or hiking boots; hang a pair of binoculars or a camera around our respective necks, and LET'S GO OUTSIDE!
Backpacks for Birders Loaner Program
Through the Friends' Backpacks for Birders program, backpacks outfitted with binoculars, bird field guide, and a notebook for recording observations, illustrating your Refuge experience, or just taking notes are available for checkout in the Nature Store.
We have two sizes of binoculars, one more suitable for adults and one for children, and two different field guides, a standard field guide and a youth field guide. You can check out a backpack or just a pair of binoculars. An adult must check out backpacks for children.
Visiting the Refuge Headquarters Unit and new Visitor Center
The Red River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters is located along the Red River in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, south of the Jimmie Davis/70th Street Bridge. Outdoor spaces are open to the public from sunrise to sunset seven days a week. Informational brochures about the Refuge and regulations regarding public use of the Refuge’s four units are available at the Visitor Center and in kiosks on the various units.
The Visitor Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and on selected weekends. The Nature Store in the Visitor Center is operated by the Friends of the Red River NWR and is currently open when trained volunteers are available. Regular nature store hours will be established as soon as we have sufficient volunteer staff to do so. For more information or to find out if the Nature Store is open, call (318) 742-1219.
Directions to the Headquarters Unit & Visitor Center
The Refuge Headquarters has a new address: 150 Eagle Bend Point, Bossier City, LA 71112. To find us using GPS or online maps, use the old address of 555 Sunflower Road. Until the Teague Parkway extension is completed, access to the Refuge and the Visitor Center will continue to be from Sunflower Road. When the parkway is completed, the Refuge will have a dedicated exit from the parkway.
From the intersection of US 71 (Barksdale Boulevard) and Jimmie Davis Highway (LA 511) in Bossier City, go south about one-half mile on US 71. Turn right (west) on Sunflower Road and proceed to the refuge entrance at the end of the road (about one mile). Drive through the gate and follow the main gravel road about one-half mile, bearing left at the fork in the road, to the Visitor Center.
Put Your Stamp On
The 2011-2012 Federal Duck Stamp is now on sale and anyone who enjoys wildlife and natural landscapes should purchase a stamp. Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the $15 Duck Stamp support the acquisition of wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since 1934, Duck Stamp receipts of over $750 million have protected over 5.3 million acres of habitat for wildlife and for future generations of Americans.
Wetlands provide vital habitat for bird breeding, nesting, and rearing young. Since 1780, the amount of wetlands in the conterminous United States has declined from 11 percent to just 5 percent in 1980. One third of America's threatened species make their home in wetlands.
To see how Duck Stamp dollars are working to conserve habitat go to http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/Conservation/conservation.htm
The Stamp costs only $15 and it can be purchased at Friends of Red River events and meetings, nearly all Post Offices, or online at http://www.duckstamp.com
