What to look for in nature in Louisiana this March

Some are, and this is the busiest month for starting nests. In LDWF’s report on the 2024 season, seven of the 15 pairs made their first nesting attempt in March, more than in any other month. The flock lives year round in the southwest, so nothing migrates in or out: pairs build a mound of trampled vegetation in a flooded field or marsh and sit on it. (The February page covers the earliest nests.)

The same report shows how hard the first weeks are. Of 15 chicks hatched in the wild that year, ten vanished or died within their first 15 days, and five survived to fledge, the earliest by day 74. A chick hatched in Calcasieu Parish on February 23 left the nest with its parents on the morning of March 2 and was gone by evening. A chick hatched on April 7 in Jefferson Davis Parish died after strong wind moved its nest, and a trail camera caught a large snake crawling onto another nest at night. A pair that loses a nest often tries again, on average about 17 days later.

The long-run trend is upward. After the 2026 season LDWF counted 84 cranes in Louisiana, 32 of them born in the state’s wild, and a record 10 chicks fledged that year, beating the earlier record of eight set in 2022.

On farm roads in the southwest, scan flooded fields from the car window with binoculars. An adult stands about five feet tall, with a wingspan of seven to eight feet, and is white with a red crown and black face markings. Enjoy it from the road: federal and state law protect the species, and a nest is no place for visitors. Report a sighting on LDWF’s whooping crane page, and call LDWF’s enforcement line, 1-800-442-2511, if you see one harassed.

Early March for many of them. At Avery Island in Iberia Parish, the McIlhenny family’s Jungle Gardens holds Bird City, one of the oldest bird sanctuaries in the country. Edward McIlhenny started it in 1895 with eight snowy egrets he had raised and released, at a time when plume hunters for the hat trade had almost wiped the species out. By 1911 the population had grown to an estimated 100,000 egrets, according to The Cultural Landscape Foundation. A 2024 article in Southbound says the staff set out dried bamboo on raised platforms each winter, ready for “the early March arrival” of thousands of water birds, which leave again when the young can fly at summer’s end.

On the coast, brown pelicans, Louisiana’s state bird, nest on low barrier islands. Queen Bess Island, northeast of Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish, was rebuilt with Deepwater Horizon settlement money. Before the work, only 5 of its 36 acres were usable for nesting. NOAA’s 2020 announcement calls it the fourth-largest brown pelican colony in the state, holding 15 to 20 percent of Louisiana’s pelican nesting, and says the finished island was ready for the pelicans’ arrival that March. The Fish and Wildlife Service reports 18 species nesting there in the first season, among them roseate spoonbills, reddish egrets, tricolored herons and great and snowy egrets.

Inland, Audubon’s magazine guide points to Lake Martin near Lafayette, where hundreds of herons, egrets, night-herons, ibises and roseate spoonbills nest in plain view from March through May. In the southwest, Sabine National Wildlife Refuge on the Creole Nature Trail is where visitors tend to find spoonbills and purple gallinules.

Watch colonies from a boardwalk, a road or a boat well away from the nests, and never land on a nesting island.

The wild show moves from the redbud and the first wetland irises to the azaleas and bog plants of the pine hills. These are good bets, with the times each source gives.

The Louisiana Native Plant Society lists its 2027 annual conference for March 5–7; check lnps.org for the place, registration and field trips.

The first trans-Gulf crossers, mostly in the second half of the month. Audubon’s magazine guide says spring migration runs from mid-March through May, with April the best, and that the day after a cold front brings the most birds.

So March is the quiet start. The famous coastal woods, Grand Isle and Peveto Woods in Cameron Parish, are best known for April and early May. Peveto, a sanctuary run by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society, is birded hardest from March to May and has more than 318 species on its list. Audubon calls Grand Isle’s woodlands one of the best fallout sites for spring migration, peaking around mid-April.

Note the date, the weather and the wind direction with each first-of-year sighting; fronts decide when migrants drop into your yard.

Frogs. The winter chorus ends this month. A Loyola University article by Bob Thomas explains that spring peepers and Cajun (upland) chorus frogs breed in the cool season and “disappear from the breeding sites in March or thereabouts,” and that their tadpoles transform about the time the spring breeders become active. The southern leopard frog, whose call is a series of chuckles, breeds in every month but prefers the cold ones. Brad Glorioso’s guide to Louisiana’s reptiles and amphibians gives the Cajun chorus frog’s breeding season as November through April, in ditches and temporary pools, and notes that the frogs stop calling when approached. Most toads and treefrogs call on the warm, wet nights that follow; Loyola’s call guide lists them for volunteers in the Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring Program.

Alligators. LDWF says the wild population tops 3 million, up from under 100,000 about 50 years ago. Its nuisance-alligator page explains that in spring and summer alligators move to breed or find new habitat, and many of the travelers are smaller animals pushed out by larger ones, who usually move on within a week or two. Basking gators normally slide into the water as you approach; the worry is one that leaves the water and comes straight toward people.

Black bears. LDWF’s management plan puts the winter dormancy of Louisiana black bears at roughly December to March, though some males stay active all winter where there is food. At the end of dormancy, March to April, females with cubs are usually the last to leave the den. Litters average two cubs, and cubs stay with their mother until they are 15 to 18 months old.

Watch alligators and bears from a distance and never feed them. In bear country, secure garbage, bird feed and pet food.

Largemouth bass are at their peak. LDWF’s freshwater fishing forecast (Angling Insider, issue 2) says March and April mark the height of bass spawning in Louisiana: any bass not on a nest is about to be or just was. Crappie, which Louisianans call sac-a-lait, are finishing up in some waters, and their peak is over by April. LSU’s Sea Grant fact sheet says crappie begin to spawn actively when the water reaches 61 °F, earlier than bass or bream. Redear sunfish (shellcrackers) start in early April, and the forecast adds a courtesy for anglers: bass on beds can be caught, but taking them harms local spawning, so catch and release is kinder.

Catfish are in pre-spawn mode while waters climb toward 70 degrees, feeding hard to rebuild winter weight. LDWF says the first channel catfish stockings of the year at its Get Out & Fish! community ponds come at the end of March and the beginning of April; the stocking schedule is on the program page. Anglers 17 and under fish free.

Crawfish are the other water story. LSU researchers Gambill and Midway report that the wild fishery averaged 5 million kilograms a year, worth about $10 million, with 90 percent of landings from the Atchafalaya basin, and that high river stage in January and February raised March and April landings. Flooded crawfish fields also feed wading birds and, as the crane report shows, host whooping crane nests.

Polarized glasses let you spot round bass beds in clear, shallow water from the bank; keep your distance.

Mild, wet and changeable, with a real chance of storms. In NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals, March highs average about 69 °F at Monroe and 73 °F at Baton Rouge and Lake Charles, and average lows run from about 47 °F at Monroe and Shreveport to 55 °F at New Orleans. Rain totals from about 3.7 inches at Lake Charles to 5.2 inches at Monroe. Freezing nights are down to roughly two on average at Shreveport and well under one in the south. By April, those averages fall to nearly zero everywhere, and highs reach the upper 70s.

Flood. The National Weather Service in Shreveport’s write-up of March 8–11, 2016, shows how much March rain can fall: very heavy rain began on the afternoon of March 8 and continued off and on through March 12, and a few places recorded more than 20 inches. Preliminary totals included 22.25 inches at Swartz and 20.26 inches at Monroe in Ouachita Parish and 18.84 inches at Barksdale Air Force Base. Roads were closed, homes and businesses were evacuated, and rescues were carried out in northern Louisiana.

Tornadoes. The Shreveport office’s list of past events includes tornadoes in Caddo, Bossier and Webster parishes on March 9, 2019, tornadoes across East Texas and northwest Louisiana on March 27, 2021, and squall-line tornadoes in north Louisiana on March 30, 2022. Set up phone alerts, keep a weather radio, and know where you will shelter.

The Climate Prediction Center posts its 90-day outlook on the federal outlook page, updated monthly; check it for the latest. For your own town’s frost odds, see our Louisiana frost dates, and for tonight’s forecast the weather page.

Median dates run from late January at New Orleans to the end of March at Homer in the north hills, and the latest springs reach mid-April. The table gives NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals at the main station for each place. “One year in ten” is a date so early that only the earliest tenth of springs are already done with freezing; “nine years in ten” is when 9 of 10 springs are finished. In the far south, a March freeze is unusual. At Monroe and Shreveport, a freeze after late March is roughly a one-in-ten event.

A low-lying farm or a calm hollow can freeze weeks after the airport does. Check your own parish on the Louisiana frost page, and watch the forecast for clear, still nights before setting out tender plants.

Close to an hour in the month, and then the clocks add another. Louisiana’s days are lengthening by about two minutes each day around the equinox, which the U.S. Naval Observatory puts at Saturday, March 20, 3:25 p.m. CDT (20:25 UTC). Everywhere in the table, daylight tops 12 hours before April.

On Sunday, March 14, clocks leap ahead at 2 a.m.; that night is an hour short, and from then on the clock shows both sunrise and sunset an hour later. In Houston, the nearest city in our sky data, the sun sets at 6:29 p.m. on the 13th and at 7:29 p.m. on the 14th. Louisiana lies east of Houston in the same time zone, so its sunsets come somewhat later. Any clock time for a sunrise or sunset on a date before the 14th is standard time, and from the 14th on it is daylight time.

The table shows sunrise-to-sunset time, which the clock change cannot alter, and the northern cities pick up a few more minutes than the coast. For any parish, use the day length calculator, which also lists twilight.

Easter Sunday falls on March 28. Pair the dark nights with our cloud outlook and the moon phases page.

• Louisiana Native Plant Society conference, March 5–7, 2027. The society’s home page has a “save the date” for the 2027 annual conference but gave no location in early October; check lnps.org for registration, speakers and field trips.
• Wild azaleas and pitcher plants in Kisatchie National Forest. The Wild Azalea Trail’s bloom runs March into early April, and the Forest Service rates Cooter’s Bog best from March to May. The forest office, 318-473-7160, can tell you about trail conditions and closures.
• Bird City and the rookeries. Jungle Gardens at Avery Island expects its egrets from early March, and Lake Martin has boardwalk and roadside viewing. Check each site’s hours first.
• Big Branch Marsh refuge, Lacombe. The refuge runs free Nature Explorers for toddlers and preschoolers twice a month (first and third Fridays, it says) and a monthly Homeschool Friday for older children, with registration by email. No March 2027 events were posted when we looked; ask the ranger.
• Baton Rouge Audubon outings. The society lists a monthly walk at Bluebonnet Swamp (small fee) and evening programs through May, but no March 2027 dates were posted in early October.
• Catfish for kids. LDWF’s Get Out & Fish! ponds usually receive their first channel catfish at the end of March and start of April; see the program page for the stocking schedule.
• Citizen science. Send first-of-year hummingbirds and monarchs to Journey North and any whooping crane to LDWF. The Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring Program is a mostly volunteer calling-frog survey, coordinated in part by LDWF. The City Nature Challenge’s 2027 observation days are April 30 to May 3, and its site did not list participating Louisiana cities when we checked.

We checked each organizer’s page on October 7, 2026. Dates shift and storms cancel outdoor programs, so confirm before you go. Our February page has the first crane nests and the woodcock, your first-of-year sightings belong in the Naturalist’s Field Journal, and each state’s seasonal guide is listed at /nature.

• Turkey season. In LDWF’s 2026–27 regulations, the 2027 spring turkey season opens with a youth and physically challenged hunt on Friday through Sunday, March 26–28, on private land only in turkey Areas A, B and C. The general season opens April 3 (to May 2 in Area A, April 25 in Area B, April 18 in Area C); public lands keep separate schedules, and a proposed rule on WMAs could change methods for 2027. Hunters need a basic hunting license and turkey tags (youths need the youth license). The limit is one adult gobbler a day and two a season, and hens, dogs, baiting and electronic calls are prohibited.
• Other seasons. The light-goose conservation order ends March 7. Quail, rabbit and squirrel seasons ended February 28, and a spring squirrel season runs May 1–23. Furbearer trapping runs to March 31.
• Orange and pink. LDWF’s 400-square-inch hunter orange or blaze pink rule is tied to firearms deer seasons and certain dog seasons on WMAs, and the statewide turkey rules do not state it. A bright hat is still wise on public land during any hunting season, and each WMA posts its own rules.
• Storms and flooding. March brings squall lines and heavy rain; the 2016 flood in the north shows how fast roads close. Turn around rather than drive through water, and keep a weather radio handy.
• Snakes, ticks and insects. The Forest Service’s Cooter’s Bog warning applies across the piney woods: diamondback rattlesnakes, water moccasins, ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes. Wear long pants and boots, and check for ticks afterward.
• Alligators and bears. Give every alligator room, keep dogs leashed near water, and report one that approaches people to LDWF. In bear country, store garbage and pet food securely and never feed a bear.
• Cold water. Bayous and lakes are still cold. Wear a life jacket afloat, and slow down in fog.