Alabama Birding Trails

05/09/2024

Sept Meeting Update: Date: 10 Sept 2024
Times:
8 - 9:45 AM for the bird walk around the 5 Rivers Delta Center complex - Terri & Mark will lead the walk. We'll meet at Blakeley Hall vice the Theater
10 - 11 AM for the General meeting will be in Blakeley Hall at Five Rivers Delta Center

Where: 5 Rivers Delta Center (Map Attached)
31115 Five Rivers Blvd, Spanish Fort, AL 36527

Agenda:
Birds in the Environment
Volunteer support for future events
Future out of area birding trips
- Festival of Cranes 10-13 Jan 2025

Note's
-Weather could always be an issue - Please check www.MobileBayAudubon.org website before departing your location. We'll post a notification by 7am, if we cancel the walk.


*****
Fall - Eastern Shore Birder Schedule
ESB Fall 2024 Schedule

Our regular birding mornings (8:00 am -11:30) followed by optional lunch will resume on the first and third Wednesdays during the Fall

We are very fortunate to have two of the very best birders helping us identify and find the birds.
- Larry Gardella is a well-known guide and an exceptional teacher who will help you spot, identify, and learn bird calls.
- Betsy Eagar is the treasurer of the Dauphin Island Birding Sanctuaries and is likewise a wonderful teacher who can spot and identify birds the rest of us miss. Thanks so much to them both.

Birding Schedule Fall 2024 (Subject to change)

-September 11 Wednesday, Bayfront/Village Point (Meet in the parking lot of Village Point Preserve at 8:00 am)

-September 25 Wednesday, Bayfront/Village Point
-October 2 Wednesday - Bird Banding, Fort Morgan Emma Rhodes and Kyle Shephard from the Banding Coalition of the Americas
-October 16 Wednesday, Dauphin Island Woods
-October 30 Wednesday, TBA
-November 6 Wednesday, TBA
-November 20 Wednesday, TBA

1. Anyone going on an ESB field trip needs to complete or update the Release Form which is a Holds Harmless Agreement. Lynne will have them when you arrive for the trip.

2. Each participant is responsible for their transportation to /from the event.

3. You need to wear safe closed-toe shoes, bring water, sunscreen, and hat (optional), binoculars, a spotting scope (optional), and insect repellant, You need to determine your comfort levels for walking on different terrains.

4. We generally begin around 8:00 a.m. and finish around 11:30. (For Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan we begin at 8:30 a.m.) For those who wish to join us for lunch following the birding, you are most welcome. Each will order and pay separately. This is a fun time to compile our bird count and get to know one another.

5. Feel free to bring an adult friend(s) along, they must sign a RELEASE FORM.

It is important to walk as a group and listen to your guide. Be sure your “visiting” does not prevent another from hearing the guide’s information.

If there are cancellations, we will post the info on our Home Page, and on the events page www.mobilebayaudubon.org

03/09/2024

Calling all photographers! SALT's 2024 Photography Contest is now open for submissions from September 1 to November 1. We’re excited to see your captures of Alabama’s stunning flora, fauna, and people in nature. With Adult and Junior divisions, there’s a place for everyone to showcase their talent. Remember, all photos must be taken during the contest period. Don’t miss your chance to share your unique perspective on the beauty of our natural world! 🌿📸

For more information, please visit www.southalabamalandtrust.org/salt-photo-contest/

29/08/2024

Nest-building isn’t just instinct. Birds can learn from others, letting groups within one species develop their own distinctive nest-building traditions.

29/08/2024

What an amazing accomplishment by the Land Trust of North Alabama.Chapman Mountain is a great asset to birding in Alabama! Sweet Home Alabama The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development Tourism Alabama Audubon. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/landtrust/land-trust-of-north-alabama/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0VLWtnIUHJRp-4PsACg1M_MixiGwc6AA4_U2D2XBQyyHeIQgFJNyfPeeI_aem_kttQ3uxFJuQ0opDXDvDNVg

Funded by a small grant and constructed with the help of volunteers, Land Trust of North Alabama (LTNA) built a bird blind at Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve, an eBird hotspot.

28/08/2024

“We have been intentional in acquiring and protecting much of the remaining undeveloped habitat in this highly valuable area. When all the acquisition acres are combined, the collective positive impact is phenomenal.”
https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2024/08/alabama-expands-wildlife-protection-area-with-16-million-land-acquisition-in-fort-morgan.html?utm_campaign=aldotcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

23/08/2024

Love this! So great to see lots of happy birders exploring Sweet Home Alabama! From Maine south to the coastal plains, people flocked to enjoy good old fashioned southern hospitality and outstanding birding!

23/08/2024

Send a message to learn more

20/08/2024

A couple of days are left to register before our North Alabama outing to Key Cave NWR and beyond (and only a few spots are left)!

Join Executive Director Dr. Scot Duncan, Program Coordinator Andrew Lydeard, and APSU graduate student Daniel Redwine to search the wilds of the Tennessee River Valley, where fall migration holds legendary status! This region of Alabama is home to some of the most diverse migratory birding hotspots in the whole state - 80 species is the target for the day - and the journey will take us through some exciting stops along the way. Tag along to count birds, enjoy migration, and spend the day with cool birders just like you!

Everyone of all ages and skill levels is encouraged to sign up at alaudubon.org/event/

16/08/2024

16/08/2024

And birding!!!!

The next Camping, Open Trails and Fishing at the Forever Wild Wehle Tract in Bullock County is set for September 6-8.

For more details, visit https://www.outdooralabama.com/node/161052

12/08/2024

Our chimney swift tower, an Eagle Scout service project constructed by Carson Taylor, Troop #142 a few years ago. The tower is located in a field near the Visitor Center.

Chimney swifts build a nest of twigs and saliva stuck to a vertical surface, which is almost always a human-built structure, typically a chimney. These artificial towers provide swifts a place to construct their nests. Hopefully we will have nesting chimney swifts for years to come at the refuge!

11/08/2024

A migrating swallow-tailed kite named Suwannee 22 had quite a journey as she attempted to fly from Florida to Cuba as Debby moved through.

07/08/2024

03/08/2024

29/07/2024

15/07/2024

Now is a great time to make sure you have plenty of water available for our feathered friends! It's hot and humid, but not much rain!

12/07/2024

If you’re hot, they’re hot too!! Our beach nesting birds have the added responsibility of keeping their eggs and chicks cool enough to survive the sweltering summer heat on our coast. If adults are flushed (scared/chased) off their nests it can result in eggs and baby birds overheating and potentially not surviving. It’s gonna be a hot one this weekend in lower Alabama- share the beach and give nesting birds like this Black Skimmer plenty of space!