How to Identify South Louisiana Wildlife

Use a guidebook to familiarize yourself with common Louisiana wildlife. Good choices include "Louisiana Wildlife: An Introduction to Familiar Species," by James Kavanagh and "The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland," by Gay M. Gomez.

Visit the Marsh Island Wildlife Refuge to look for birds like overwintering snow geese. Adults are a brilliant white medium-sized birds that weigh 4 to 6 lbs., measure 25 to 31 inches from beak to tail, have pink bills and feet and black wing tips.

Search for white-tailed deer while you're at the refuge. During the winter months these large deer will be grayish-brown, changing to tan or brown in the summer. Females weigh 90 to 200 lbs., males range from 150 to 300 lbs. and both sexes raise their large white tails ("flagging") when alarmed or running.

Take a trip to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, one of the nation's most biologically diverse wildlife areas. You will likely see the resident Canadian geese. These remarkable birds are 29 to 43 inches long with wingspans ranging from 50 to 70 inches. Their heads and necks are black with a white chinstrap, and their backs are light brown and chests are buff-colored.