Coastal, Dauphin Island - Bayou La Batre Loop | Mobile | Best Seasons: Fall | Winter
Coden Belt Road is a hidden treasure on the coast. Just before the westward bend, scout the small backwater to the left for waders. A view of Mississippi Sound toward Dauphin Island is beyond. At the bend, Clark Road changes to Coden Belt Road. This is a mile-long road that returns to AL 188 at the bridge. Rolston Park will be on your right, with restrooms and picnic pavilions. Red-headed Woodpeckers have been observed here. Cruise slowly westward, checking the numerous pilings on your left. Each one will have its gull, tern, Brown Pelican or Double-crested Cormorant resting on top. Look carefully among the larger birds for Ruddy Turnstone.
On occasion, Spotted or Solitary Sandpiper will coast along the shoreline. Some of the residences to the right have Purple Martin houses in the yard which are happily occupied in the springtime. There will be a few sandbars exposed at low tide, which may be good for shorebirds, gulls and terns. Occasionally a large flock of Black Skimmers can be viewed out over the water. Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, and Dunlin may be found in winter on the sandbars.
If it’s a cold winter there may be bay ducks out on the water. Continue around the next bend to a dirt pull-off just prior to the shipyard. Scan the waters close in for shorebirds and waders. Further out, you may see flocks of gulls floating in the water.
DIRECTIONS: If following directions provided in the Coastal Birding Trail booklet, From AL 188, turn left (south) at Clark Road.
GPS: N30.37155 W-88.22811
Amenities Available:
Nearby Sites
Airport, Dauphin Island
Dauphin Island Airport is set in a salt water marsh in which may be found Clapper Rail (common), Virginia Rail and Sora are fairly common(fall and winter), though secretive. Yellow Rail is very rare in winter as is Black Rail most of the year. Nelson …
Battleship Park
Battleship Park presents the birder with a diversity of habitat to explore and a great variety of birds to observe. Pinto Pass and the mudflats of Mobile Bay filled with waterfowl in winter and shorebirds during migration, short grass lawns for dowit …
Bayfront Park
Look for gulls and terns on the pilings in the bay and shorebirds along the shoreline. From the shoreline, walk the boardwalk to an inland marsh. Look closely for Least Bittern and Clapper Rail. During fall and winter, Virginia Rail and Sora are regu …
Bellingrath Gardens
The entire 900-acre complex is a bird sanctuary and there is an observation tower overlooking the Fowl River and salt marsh. Although good year-round, birding potential for neotropical migrants increases during the spring and fall months. Cruises thr …
Blakeley Island – Mud Lakes
Depending on water levels and time of year, the first pond on the right (south) often offers the best conditions for viewing waterfowl like Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, and Northern Shoveler, and various shorebirds, gulls and terns. Th …
Blakeley Island – North Blakeley Disposal Area
The Mud Lakes on Blakeley Island are well known to Alabama birders as one of the best spots in South Alabama for shorebirds and waterfowl. The Island, at the western end of the Mobile Causeway, along the east side of US 90A, can be reached from eithe …