The town of Cameron is an excellent departure point for birding. The East Jetties are merely a mile south of the town's Main Street, and Broussard Beach and Rutherford Beach are just a few miles to the east. In addition, the ancient oaks of the town provide shelter for migrants and such resident birds as Inca, White-winged and Eurasian Collared Dove, which can often be seen feeding together on streets near the courthouse.
To get to the jetties, simply turn south by the "Shell CamMart" station and follow the blacktop road to its terminus. If you have any problems finding the right street, just ask; everyone in town can direct you to the jetties. The rock jetties provide good perches for gulls, terns, egrets, etc., and also create vast mudflats in their lee that are resting and feeding grounds for tens of thousands of birds at low tide. The flats can be hard as concrete, but there are soft spots to look out for. People do sometimes sink up to their waists in sucking mud. For the best view of the flats, park by the barricade at the end of the road and cross the fence to where the marsh starts. Set up your scope, and get to work. A good many rarities have been found here over the years.
Jetty Woods, a great woodland that can be good in migration, is also on this road. Heading back to town from the jetties, turn right after the "Red Man" sign on the right. The road will cut back at an angle, head across a pature then into the woods. This is private property, and the gate is sometimes locked, but birders have always been tolerated when the gate is open. Treat the land with due respect!
Hitting Highway 82 in Cameron again, turn right to get to Broussard Beach. On Highway 1142, take a right (south), then a left at the bend. You will be running parallel to the beach heading east at this point. Eventually you will see a sand road cutting off toward the beach through the marsh. Take it, but be careful if the road is wet--there are huge potholes that fill with water. When you get to the beach, you will notice a nice mudflat before you. This is Broussard Beach. It hosts big flocks of gulls, terns, and shorebirds, and is one of the best places in the state to find rare gulls. It is also a major wintering spot for Piping and Snowy Plovers. The dirt road continues to the east along the beach, but isn't always to be trusted. Don't take a risk. You can survey most of the same area from the other direction, via Rutherford Beach. The stretch of beach between Broussard and Rutherford have yielded the major part of the state's 5 record of Arctic Tern (in early June), the state's second record of Mongolian Plover (in fall), and always seems to have at least a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Here's how to get there: Head back to Hwy 82 and head east past the juncture where 82 heads north. You want to keep on to the right on the highway, keeping parallel to the coast. After a few miles, you'll see a small, unimpressive sign for Rutherford Beach on the right. Take a right. This road takes you through nice open marsh towards the small community of camps known as Rutherford Beach. When you hit the camps, steer toward the beach. The beach is packed and you can drive it to the west until just past the town, where you'll see a big wooden corral. A small sand road passes through the corral and up onto the grasslands adjacent to the beach. This road goes west all the way back to Broussard Beach. There's great birding along the beach and in the grasslands, especially in winter, when there are an abundance of gulls, etc., on the one hand and sparrows on the other. Sprague's Pipit is regular in small numbers in the winter. They can sometimes be seen feeding near the edge of the grass within a few feet of the abundant Water Pipits on the sand. The corral area can be good for lingering migrants in winter. Be sure to turn around and retrace your path when the road leaves the grasslands as it nears Broussard Beach.
Cameron Prairie NWR and the Gibbstown bridge can be reached by heading north on Hwy 27 east between Rutherford Beach and Cameron. Heading north, you will pass by incredibly great wetlands that you won't be able to bird because there are no pulloffs! If you do care to study these lands, take the "Little Chenier" road to the east and simply use the shoulder to view the marsh. When you get back on 27 heading north, you will approach a gargantuan bridge rising ahead. This is Gibbstown Bridge, and the small road/landing on the right just before the bridge is a good place for scanning the marsh for ducks. When you're done, cross the bridge, and you'll almost immediately hit the Cameron Prairie NWR, where thousands of geese are easily observed in the winter.