2017 Exploring Dauphin Island and the Coastal Birding Trail’s Western Section
Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Dauphin …
8 Places You Shouldn’t Miss in East Alabama
Be sure to explore these locations in beautiful East Alabama!
Birds aren’t the only colorful thing you’ll see along Alabama’s Birding Trails.
The fall foliage can be amazin …
Sanders Ferry Road
Starting as a semi-suburban two-lane road, Sanders Ferry Rd suddenly changes into open croplands on the south side and semi-open pinewoods on the north. There is excellent birding potential here, and you can reach more farm and field habitat and a sod farm by retracing Sanders Ferry, then turning right on Black Warrior Road. This loop can produce everything from Buff-breasted Sandpipers to Bachman’s Sparrows, with meadowlarks, Dickcissels, and Mississippi Kites thrown in for good measure.
Cypress Lake/Foster Fields
Foster Loop Road is almost impossible to summarize briefly. The loop passes through an almost endless series of habitat types, and thus produces opportunities for an equally varied list of birds. Look for birds of old fields, agricultural lands, roadside scrub, dense pines, cypress swamps, and mixed all-age woodlands. High points: soaring Mississippi Kites, along with Wood Storks in the swamp in summer, Cliff Swallow colonies under I-20/59.
Hale County Catfish Ponds
Hale County is the center of Alabama’s catfish farming industry. These shallow man-made ponds present excellent habitat for swallows; Barn, Cliff, Rough-winged, and Purple Martins breed here, while Tree and Bank swallows are migrants. This is a good area for finding waders, including Wood Storks in summer and fall. You will see Red-winged Blackbirds, Belted Kingfishers, and a variety of shorebirds here.
Birding Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, Dallas County, Alabama
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park near Orville was chosen as the site for the Black Belt Birding Trail Advisory Group’s May meeting and, as a bonus, we conducted a 2-hour bird walk prior to the meeting. Although the Clear Creek Nature Trail is located just west of the Visitor’s Center, we chose to bird the Capitol Reserve. This section of the park is located immediately around the site of the capitol on the southeast side of the park adjacent to the Alabama River. It is level and provides easy access to a nice variety of habitats including mixed bottomland forest with a dense understory, cypress slough, and lawn dotted with mature hardwoods, many festooned with Spanish moss.
Sipsey River Bottoms and Shirley’s Bridges
Shirley’s Bridges span the Sipsey River’s bottomlands in northern Tuscaloosa County. The birding here is spectacular from spring through fall, when the birds are abundant and easily observed from the road’s apron around the bridges. You will hardly believe that so many Prothonotary Warblers, Acadian Flycatchers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and American Redstarts exist. Also look for Anhingas and Mississippi Kites, both of which breed in the vicinity. This area provides a great birding experience – one of the best in the state.
West Alabama Birding Trail Launch
The official trail launch begins at 9:30 a.m. (central) on September 21 at The Tom Bevill Visitor’s Center. Highlights of the event include a Raptor Trek presentation by 4-H Program Coordinator Becky Collier that includes several raptors, including a Bald Eagle. An expert birder will guide an adult bird walk and Lauren Chapman, Regional Extension Agent for 4-H for Hale, Pickens and Tuscaloosa Counties will lead a bird walk and scavenger hunt for children. A Sun Safety Program will also be presented by Patti Presley-Fuller and Denise Shirley with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
