The area west of the Cameron Ferry includes such birding hotspots as the Holleyman Migratory Bird Sanctuary, the Sabine NWR boardwalk, and a very nice stretch of beach (for birds, anyway) along Highway 82.
Beaches
Driving west along highway 82 after crossing the Calcasieu ship channel by ferry in Cameron, you will very quickly find yourself driving just north of the Gulf beach. Unfortunately, until you reach the town of Holly Beach, you won't have a clear look at the water. You will, however, see a line of trees forming to the south. This treeline, or chenier, which runs intermittently from here to the Texas border, is located on ridges which were once the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. They are outstanding birding spots in migration, the first sight of land for Trans-Gulf migrants in spring, and the southernmost woods that migrants in fall can use as they hug the coastline heading west and south. They are also mostly in private hands, and off-limits to birders. You'll have to wait for the Holleyman Sanctuary a few miles to the west before you can sample the chenier birdlife.
At Holly Beach, be sure to take Highway 82 to follow the beaches. On 82 past Holly Beach, the birder is treated to a wonderful dilemma, i.e., whether to scan the beaches on the left, or the fencelines, telephone wires and prairie to the right. Both can provide large numbers of birds. There is a stretch of a few miles of beach that usually has a few huge flocks of gulls and terns that can be scanned from the wide shoulder on the beach side of the highway. Many of these gulls are Laughing Gulls, augmented in winter by Ring-billed, Herring, and Bonaparte's Gulls, but in migration Franklin's can usually be found in small numbers, and practically every other gull species on the state list has been seen on this stretch at one time or another. Terns include Forster's, Royal, and Caspian year-round, and Black, Least, Sandwich, and Common in summer and migration. Gull-billeds sometimes mix with these flocks, although they are easier to find swooping over the marshes on the other side of the road. Other beach birds include Brown and White Pelicans, and the typical mix of Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Western Sandpipers and Willets, as well as the less common but usually present Snowy, Piping, and Wilson's Plovers.
Scanning the waves in winter can sometimes produce Gannet, sometimes in large numbers, and the occasional jaeger chasing the gulls which follow the shrimp trawlers.
Holleyman Sanctuary can be found a few miles to the west of where Hwy 82 again is split from the beach by cheniers. Look for the sign pointing to the sanctuary just across the highway from the monstrous Stingray Compression Plant. Signs will lead you to a parking lot, and the sanctuary is well-marked.
Think of Holleyman Sanctuary as High Island without the high volume of birders. Many days of the year it is deserted except for birds. It is the best-kept secret on the Gulf Coast, a tremendous site during spring fallouts and a steady, sometimes spectacular spot in fall. Rainy days in the spring can yield trees swarming with migrants, a veritable sensory overload. Spring migration lasts from mid-March through mid-May, with the peak, in terms of numbers, coming in mid- late-April. If you hit it on a good day, you will never forget it.
West of Holleyman, there are a few beach access roads and good birding, but for the most part, you would need a local birder's assistance to steer you.
Sabine NWRis located north of Holly Beach on Hwy 27. Hwy 27 splits from Hwy 82 just west of Holly Beach. Soon after the split, there is a water tower which hosts a Peregrine Falcon almost every winter. Continue north until you see the signs for the refuge (ca. 5-10 miles). There is a large parking area, and a sidewalk which extends into the marsh and to an observation tower. This is a freshwater marsh, with a good variety of waders, rails, shorebirds and waterfowl, and usually a few surprises. Neotropic Cormorant, a Gulf Coast specialty, is an abundant year-round resident, and a few Glossy Ibis can usually be found mixed in with the White-faced. The birds at the boardwalk usually allow close approach.