Once again I have returned to Louisiana to walk in Audubon 's footsteps. This time Pam and I are visiting the Oakley Plantation in St. Francisville, LA, the centerpiece of the Audubon State Historic Site. In 1821 John James Audubon spent a (mostly) pleasant summer at Oakley Plantation, tutoring a lovely, teenaged girl, Eliza Pirrie. Oakley House was built in the late 18th century by Lucretia Pirrie and her first husband, Ruffin Gray. After Gray's death, Lucretia married Scotland-born James Pirrie, a planter and formerly a prominent official in the Spanish government. The Pirrie family occupied the place until 1947, when the site was purchased by the state of Louisiana. During Audubon's tenure at Oakley, the Pirries operated a thriving 1000 acre cotton plantation maintained by over 200 slaves. Oakley is located near the Mississippi River on Bayou Sara some 100 miles north of New Orleans. The favorable conditions for growing cotton and ready access to the Mississippi River fostered the growth of several plantations in the St. Francisville area, which continue to attract tourists to this day. Here Pirrie and his baleful (couldn't resist the pun) wife Lucretia lived peacefully with their small family. Lucretia hired (and later fired) Audubon to tutor Eliza in drawing, music, dancing, and painting, an activity that occupied him during the morning, leaving his afternoons free to roam Oakley's bird-rich habitat. During his short stay at Oakley it is claimed that Audubon painted over 30 of the canvases that ultimately would appear in his magnificent Birds of America folio.We meet just outside of Audubon's small bedroom to begin the tour. The tour guide, a comely, 30-ish year old woman, beckons us into the room and begins her sing-songy jabber. Bill Mercia lent me his copy of Danny Heitman's tome "A Summer of Birds", so I am well-fortified with questions. An unfinished sketch of a Carolina Wren-or is it a Bewick's Wren-I can't be sure and forget to ask-lies on the bed. The bed itself seems too short for someone of Audubon's stature. We are told that Audubon's assistant, Joseph Mason, occupied the room, too. It must have been crowded.
Ascending a winding staircase to the second floor, we enter the library. A portrait of James Pirrie hangs over the mantle. He is smiling. In the morning room over the door, hangs a portrait of Lucretia. She glares at us. An odd couple, for sure. A table is set as if waiting for the diners and food to arrive. Although Audubon was little more than a servant, he ate with the family and must have been an entertaining guest, given his well-traveled history and voluble, effusive character. I notice that there are several prints of Audubon's birds on the walls. I correctly identify a Canada Warbler (Bonaparte's Flycatcher) and a Pine (Creeping) Warbler, but a so-called Autumnal Warbler has me stumped. A portrait of the lovely Eliza hangs on a side room wall. She looks serene and older than her 15 years. Another couple taking the tour with us finds the tour guide more informative than I am and wanders off with her. No matter. I am ready for birding. The tour ends in the bedrooms on the third floor. After hearing some forgettable commentary by the tour guide followed by a brief walk on the louvered porch, I am off to the Cardinal Trail. Pam goes shopping.
It's birdy. Appropriately enough, there are a half dozen Northern Cardinals pecking at grit at the head of the trail. I spot an Eastern Towhee foraging with them. To my left and up I see a Summer Tanager. Most of the tanagers migrated south weeks ago, but this one stayed put, presumably for my benefit. Overhead I hear the unmistakable cry of a Pileated Woodpecker. Then I watch him fly into a Loblolly Pine, which he proceeds to turn into splinters. Not an Ivory-billed Woodpecker to be sure, but still a handsome bird. A Brown Thrasher, a Carolina Chickadee, and several Tufted Titmice end the parade. After an hour I am satisfied. At the museum I am handed a list of the birds found on the property. Obviously, this list is considerably longer than my own. Regardless, this shortfall provides an incentive for me to return to Oakley at another time to walk in Audubon's footsteps once more.
Photo by Pam MacPherson
