Alabama can be a birder’s paradise! Like anywhere, you just need to know where (and when) to go. So, if you live in Alabama or have a trip planned to visit, check out these resources to make the birdy most of it! It’s important to note that Alabama’s state bird is the Northern Flicker! To plan your next trip, or your next walk, a great first place to visit is the
Alabama Ornithological Society web page. AOS publishes the ‘Birders Guide to Alabama’, which is available for purchase for $25. You can also download a 2-page checklist of Alabama Birds, available
here: A rare bird alert is linked on the website as well, which will be really handy for anyone with the time and vehicle to go twitching some exciting arrivals! Mobile Bay Audubon Society provides great information and bird checklists for the coast area (
mobilebayaudubon.org).
Birmingham Audubon Society is a great resource for mainland and northern Alabama. I was also able to find the Tennessee Valley Audubon Society, which has a wonderful list of potential places to visit in northern Alabama:
http://www.tvas.org/sanctuaries.htm but also has a very limited web presence (their website has no current information). They are affiliated with the North Alabama Birdwatchers Society, which does have an active website:
http://www.northalbirding.com.
One thing is for sure, Alabama makes the most of its coastline! The Coastal Birding Association organizes field trips throughout the year for birders visiting the coast. Visit the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary and the Weeks Bay Reserve, which provide safe spots for birds to stop and rest after their long journey across the gulf from Mexico in the spring. The Weeks Bay Reserve is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserves System, a network of 28 coastal sites throughout the country. Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary was selected by Wild Bird Magazine as one of the top four spring hot spots in the country for viewing birds.
Alabama has 16 Important Bird Areas (IBA), one of which is identified as globally important! Near Decatur, Alabama, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is of global importance to birds, and was on a list of the 500 most important bird areas in the US by the American Bird Conservancy. Also in the northern part of the state are: Key Cave NWR, Bankhead National Forest (NF), and Mt. Longleaf NWR. Eufaula NWR is one of four IBAs in the center of the state, and Bon Secour NWR, Tensaw Delta, and four others are in the southern portion.
Want something specific? The Hummer/Bird Study group is having a spring banding session from April 2 to April 14, 2011 at Fort Morgan State Historical Park. Contact Bob or Martha Sargent for more information at Rubythroat@aol.com. In the fall, be sure to check out the Alabama Coastal Birdfest, which happens sometime in the middle of October (www.alabamacoastalbirdfest.com).
