Walking in Audubon's Footsteps

In 1821-1822 John James Audubon spent several months in New Orleans, perfecting his technique for painting birds in lifelike poses. Audubon was in his mid-thirties at the time and was fully devoted to the task of completing his great enterprise, having been wiped out financially in the depression of 1819 (sound familiar?). This past week Pam and I flew to NOLA to visit my daughter Molly in her new digs, enjoy this wonderful city's unique blend of food, music, and culture, and to follow in Audubon's footsteps.

When Audubon arrived in NOLA he lived on Barracks St. at the eastern edge of the French Quarter. Later, he moved to the Pirrie plantation, Oakley, north of Baton Rouge to teach young Eliza Pirrie the elements of drawing and to continue his pursuit of new specimens for his folio. Today this plantation forms the core of the Audubon National Historic Site. When Audubon returned to NOLA in 1822, he resided at 55 (now 505) Dauphine St. in the Quarter. Unfortunately, I found little evidence of Audubon's presence on Dauphine St. These buildings are now privately owned, though registered as a national historic site, and are called the Audubon Cottages (Audubon lived in cottage #6, I was told.).

Among the many specimens that Audubon collected (i.e. shot) while residing in NOLA were the Brown Pelican (plate #251 in Birds of America)-now the Louisiana state bird-and a Fish Crow (plate #146). I visited Audubon Park and City Park in NOLA precisely with the intent of identifying these two birds. I was not disappointed. Both species were abundantly present. Furthermore, there was no lack of other choice specimens to add to my hypothetical life list. My favorites? A dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks resplendent with black bellies, tan heads, a white eye ring, and red bills. Other favorites included a close-up look at a Red-shouldered Hawk, a variety of herons, egrets, and ibises, a Carolina Chickadee, two Common Moorhens, two Brown Thrashers, two Northern Mockingbirds, and an Anhinga or two. In just a few hours I spotted 35 different species of birds. Imagine how many different birds Audubon must have seen during his many forays into the Louisiana countryside.

Perhaps most impressive to me were the swans that I saw. Despite the fact that both species that I encountered are non-natives, the several Mute Swans and the pair of Black Swans that I saw were astonishingly beautiful creatures. I have no doubt that Audubon would have been as impressed as I was by these majestic birds. If only he had had the opportunity to paint them.