THORNWELL, LA – In true Louisiana fashion, we go from one festival to another! Last weekend, Crowley, “The Rice Capital of the World,” hosted the 86th International Rice Festival to celebrate the rice industry. This weekend, a few miles away in Thornwell, “The Yellow Rail Capital of the World,” plays host to the 15th Annual
Yellow Rails and Rice Festival.
Avid bird enthusiasts from 28 states and two countries have descended on the rice fields south of Thornwell for a chance to see a Yellow Rail, a “bucket list” bird for many, along with a wide variety of other bird species in the abundant habitat rice production provides for these feathered friends. Migrating from northern North America to winter in the marshes and grassy areas along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, the Yellow Rails arrive in southwest Louisiana at the end of October every year.
The annual festival was born of an idea between two (human) couples to create an unusual eco-tourism event taking advantage of the southwest Louisiana ratoon crop harvest and the timing of migration for this elusive little bird. Donna Dittman and Steve Cardiff, “the birders,” and Shirley and Kevin Berken, “the farmers,” launched the festival in 2009 and have watched it grow each year.
This year, rice farmer Paul Johnson, of Thornwell, provided the rice fields for the birders to view the Yellow Rail, including the opportunity to ride on the combines and spot birds as they are flushed from the rice crop ahead of the harvest equipment.
Students from Louisiana State University, Mississippi State, and other institutions are on hand to help capture the varying species of birds from the rice fields, then band and release them to allow ornithologists to capture data to better understand habits related to migration patterns.
One of the more important aspects of this event is the chance to share the sustainability story of how the U.S. rice industry works to create the pristine habitat for wildlife and waterfowl, all while producing a quality crop to feed the world. At the group’s initial meeting every year, Kevin Berken gives a presentation on rice production, emphasizing the importance for consumers to look for the Grown in the USA logo when purchasing rice.
“This opportunity to tell our story, show how our industry has led the way in producing our rice crop and creating habitat as our standard practice, goes a long way,” said Berken. “Attendees tell us when they go home, they share this experience with their birding groups, family, and friends, so our message continues to grow beyond the rice field and birding experience of this weekend. Everyone that picks up a bag of rice at the grocery store makes sure it’s ‘Grown in the USA,’ and that’s a win for U.S. rice farmers and USA Rice.”