Great
Louisian BirdFest 2005
Grand Isle Trip, April 14
Originally populated by descendants of the pirate Jean Lafittr's
crew, this intriguing 7.5 mile-long barrier island is blessed
with an almost overwhelmingly diverse and beautiful bird
community. The town folk are friendly and always seem to
have time to talk with birders.
Click Here to view pictures of this field trip.
Choctaw
National Wildlife Refuge
On this field trip we enjoyed a boat trip on the Tombigbee
River and slipping into Turkey Creek and Lucy Slough! Birds!
Birds! Birds! We counted 40 species which included two Bald
Eagles by a nest, Eastern Bluebirds, American Kestrels,
hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants and American Coots,
Common Gallinules, immature Little Blue Herons, Northern
Shovelers, Mallards, Mottled Ducks and Wood Ducks, a large
flock of White Ibis, Great Egrets, Winter Wren, Common Yellow
Throat, etc., etc.,etc., just to name a few! We also saw
wild hogs and Red-eared Slider Turtles, deer and alligators!
Riding through the river-bottom was exhilarating. The refuge
is covered with stands of mixed hardwoods - sweet gums and
oaks. Tupelo gum and cypress grow in the wetter sloughs.
Pack up your gear and come along. Audubon field trips are
always fun!
Mobile
Tensaw River Delta Aboard the Delta Explorer
The Mobile-Tensaw is one of Alabama's Ten Natural Wonders.
This trip is one you don't want to miss! Departing from
the Blakeley Docks, we meandered up the Mobile Tensaw River
Delta looking for Osprey and Swallow Tailed Kites. A few
Great Egrets, Double-crested Cormorants, Snowy Egrets and
plenty of Forster's and Caspian Terns were spotted. One
Northern Harrier flew low over the marshes. Laughing Gulls
lived up to their name and laughed at the shivering humans.
Along interesting shorelines we view historical sites, while
Osprey nested down atop power structures badly damaged by
Tropical Storm Isidore. In spite of temps in the 40's, Audubon
members enjoyed a full morning aboard the Delta Explorer,
with a great picnic lunch under the sun following in the
afternoon. The Mobile Delta Trip is usually offered once
in the Spring and once in the Fall each year. Won't you
join us next time?
Weeks
Bay Field Trip
It was a cool crisp morning aboard the Estuarine Queen as
we made our way out of Week's Bay down to the Magnolia River.
The boat had a full complement as we searched for waterfowl
along the banks. Osprey were sighted, along with Double-crested
Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, Caspian Terns, Forster's Terns
and Brown Pelicans. Trees along the banks held a Yellow-Crowned
Night Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Red-Winged Blackbirds and
Red-Bellied Woodpeckers. We enjoyed the water and the foliage
and seeing mailboxes where mail is delivered by boat to
homes along the Magnolia River!
Gaillard
Island
There are more than 5,000 Brown Pelican nests on Gaillard
Island! The nests are constructed in low growing vegetation
or on the ground and are built of sticks, reeds, leaves
and grasses. Males gather materials, females build and there
is much stealing of material from unguarded nests. Incubation
is by both sexes and takes roughly 30 days. Both parents
feed the young. We could see that some nests had only one
white bloodstained egg, while others had two or three. Gull
eggs were only slightly larger than a hen's egg. Hatchlings
included some that appeared to have just broken out of their
shell. Others were old enough to snap at us! Adult pelicans
were not overly disturbed by our visit. Gulls were a different
story. Nesting mainly along the elevated southern ridge
trail, they were highly agitated and protective of their
young. We were cautious to thread our way along the berm,
careful to not step on any nests or nestlings. The pelicans
and other wildlife on Gaillard Island is a sight to behold!
Won't you join us next time?
Audubon
Annual Picnics
A luxurious afternoon with gentle breezes, low humidity
and a moderate, comfortable temperature under the trees
creates a most pleasant setting for the picnic at the Lovell
Sanctuary and Farm in Loxley. The Sanctuary is a relaxing
and lovely area with the lake's water shimmering in the
sun. The ducks, geese, peacocks, and turkeys seemed to enjoy
entertaining the group. And the little baby ducks put on
a miniature parade across the lake. You'll meet an impressive
group of people who love the natural world and want to keep
it that way. The thick slices of prime rib of beef with
tasty gravy was superb! This is a fun annual event you don't
want to miss!
CIBA
Field Trip
A group of 22 individuals enjoyed a bus tour of the 1,500
acre facility which included ponds, wooded areas and a 100
acre Superfund Site that was recently "cleaned up"
at a cost to CIBA of $135 million. The site had been a dumping
area for DDT and it took 30 years to remove and incinerate
the contaminated soil. Today, the site is covered with green
oats and is used to feed deer. On this beautiful morning
we spotted White-Tailed Deer, Fox Squirrel, Canada Goose,
Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Egret, Pied-billed
Grebe, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Eastern
Bluebird, Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Cardinal and Northern
Mockingbird. The
company has erected a number of houses for Eastern Bluebirds
and Purple Martins. The group was treated to a very nice
lunch and given umbrellas and calendars. This was a very
educational and fun trip!
Marion
Field Trip
Before daylight, us bleary-eyed nature-lovers piled into
our cars at the Rose Garden at Springdale Mall and drove
pell-mell to Marion where we were greeted by Dr. Thomas
Wilson, head of the biology department at Judson College.
Utilizing the college van, he transported us to four nature
troves:
- Cahaba
River Swamp
- The
State Fish Hatcheries
- Lakewood
Renowned Birding Area
- A
Large Farm dating back to before the Civil War
Next
we took a side excursion back to town to view a state champion
Shingle Oak tree (Quercus imbricaria). After a hearty lunch
we traveled back to the Fish Hatchery where we picked up
our own cars, met a birding group from Birmingham and then
drove seven miles to a large wetland known for it's vast
acreage of Golden Club or Never-Wet (Orontium aquaticum)
plants. After an extensive photo session and botany excursion,
some of us followed the Birmingham group to a pond where
we used spotting scopes to view Bald Eagles and their youngsters
about to fledge. Palm Warblers, Red-headed Woodpeckers and
other woodland birds were also seen. On the three hour journey
home we paused to identify and enjoy Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes
sp.) and watched an unidentified dark Buteo-like hawk soar.
It was a great day!
For
more information about field trips and other fun events
contact Celeste Hinds at 251/928-6526.
