8-9' wingspan: massive birds are flocking to this spot in Louisiana

Go early with a picnic basket and visit nearby Bishop Point if you'd like to have a nice dinner outdoors with the family before birdwatching.

CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) - Just before sunset on most evenings in early February, one of the largest birds in North America flies into a secret hotspot on the Red River near Shreveport.

With a wingspan of up to nine and a half feet, the American white pelican is seen on major waterways in northwest Louisiana from October through March.

KTAL NBC 6's John Dillon said average numbers for groups of American white pelicans in our area range from 30 to 40 birds, up to as many as 100, and that's exactly what you're likely to see if you take a trip to Red River Lock and Dam 5 on the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway.

"American White Pelicans are truly graceful flyers," wrote John Dillon in his January bird-of-the-month article with KTAL. "Go to a local lake or perhaps the Joe D. Waggoner Red River lock and dam #5 and watch them fly by in their neat single-file lines, soaring just inches over the water.  For such a huge bird, they seem to prefer coasting rather than flapping."

Get there early with a picnic basket and visit Bishop Point if you'd like to have a nice dinner outdoors with the family before birdwatching.