About Us
Welcome to North Louisiana Wildlife, where the birds are loud, the swamps are muddier than they look, and the bugs always show up uninvited. We built this site to make exploring nature in our corner of Louisiana easier, whether you’re the type who laces up hiking boots at dawn or the type who just wants to know what critter is yelling outside your window at 2 a.m.
We’re here to help you identify what you see (or hear), figure out where to find it, and maybe laugh a little along the way. Think of this site as a field guide that doesn’t take itself too seriously…because let’s be honest, even the most majestic heron has a habit of squawking like it lost a bet.
Our Mission
North Louisiana Wildlife exists to make the outdoors here less of a mystery and more of an adventure. We’re not here to bury you in jargon or act like you need a PhD to tell a woodpecker from a squirrel. Our mission is simple: help you connect with the wild side of North Louisiana in ways that are useful, clear, and maybe a little funny.
This site was born because we spend our time in the woods, swamps, and fields of North Louisiana, asking the same questions you do: What animal made that sound? Who dug that hole? Is that bird supposed to look that grumpy? Is that a snake or a stick? Is that a snake or a twig of grass? Is that a snake or my foot? (We ask ourselves a lot of questions about snakes…and clowns…while we’re in the wild).
Instead of keeping the answers to ourselves, we decided to build a space where everyone, locals, visitors, kids, even folks who can’t get out in the field, can explore what’s out here without having to wade through a swamp of bad info.
- Local voice, not copy-paste. We live here, we hike here, we sweat here. Everything comes from boots on the ground (and sometimes stuck in the mud).
- Accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a birder, a hunter, a kid with binoculars, or someone who just hears frogs outside the window, you’ll be able to understand our content.
- Equal parts serious and funny. Wildlife is wild, and it deserves respect. But if you can’t laugh when a goose honks like it’s lost its car keys, you’re missing half the fun.
- Made for North Louisiana. Instead of generic “Southern wildlife,” we focus on this exact region. What you see here, you can actually find here, and we’ll tell you where.
Brandy McKnight
Owner & Director
I’m a writer, photographer, and lifelong wanderer of North Louisiana’s woods, swamps, and backroads. I started North Louisiana Wildlife to make it easier for folks to enjoy the outdoors here without needing to carry a stack of field guides or earn a biology degree.
Most days you’ll find me behind a camera, in boots, or at the computer wrangling photos and notes into something useful. My goal isn’t just to show you the animals and places of this region, it’s to make sure everyone, from seasoned naturalists to kids on their first hike, can connect with what makes this part of the world so wildly amazing.
And if you catch me cracking a joke about a goose sounding like a car alarm, that’s just my way of keeping the mosquitoes from winning.
Ginny McKnight
Sound Wrangler
Ginny is the reason this site exists in the first place. She’s legally blind but has always loved the outdoors. What she can’t see, she can hear, and believe me, she can pick out a woodpecker hammering from a mile away.
She helps guide the site with a perspective that reminds us nature isn’t only about what you see, it’s about sound, smell, and experience. Ginny joins on field trips, asks the questions most people are too shy to ask, and helps make sure our guides work for everyone, not just the folks with perfect vision and fancy binoculars.
When she’s not in the field, she’s usually editing recordings, double-checking species notes, or reminding us that accessibility isn’t optional, it’s essential.