Alabama Birding Trails

Experience Alabama's spectacular birding trails

North Alabama

Landscapes in the region range from tupelo swamps to blazing fields of wildflowers, and towering forests of oak and hickory to vast sheets of open water replete with loafing waterfowl.

As the habitats vary through the valley, so do the seasons. Spring is heralded by the return of neotropical songbirds that stop in while on their journey northward. Summer is filled with breeding woodland species such as flashy Pileated and Red-headed woodpeckers, boisterous Great-crested Flycatchers and Carolina Wrens, and skulking Kentucky and Swainson’s warblers. In the fall, migrant waterfowl, Sandhill Cranes, and a variety of raptors return to spend the winter in the valley, or at least pass through on their way farther south.

Once winter’s chill is in the air, large roosts of Bald Eagles form and stragglers from farther north can be found with the abundant waterfowl and gulls.

Wheeler NWR – White Springs Dike

Central Loop, North Alabama | Limestone

White Springs Dike (Site #20, Central Loop) on Wheeler NWR is one of the premier birding sites of the Tennessee River Valley in Alabama. The dike runs …

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Wilson Dam Visitor Center

North Alabama, Northwest Loop | Colbert

Wilson Dam and Visitor Center (Site #6, Northwest Loop) is where the Tennessee Vally Authority’s hydroelectric dam impounds the 15,500-acre Wilson Res …

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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station

Central Loop, North Alabama | Madison

Alabama A&M’s Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station (Site #27, Central Loop) consists of  900 acres of grasslands and agricultural fields, …

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