Northern Alabama has something
new to sing about. The North
Alabama Birding Trail – 50
opportunities to view birds in 11 northern
counties – has opened. Although not
really a trail as such but more a series of
roadside stops, the trail follows the Tennessee
River. Some sites may be accessed
by car, many by walking trail and some
by canoe or boat.
“We’ve been in the process of developing
the trail for four years,” says Pam
Swanner, Decatur/Morgan County Convention
and Visitors Bureau Executive
Director.
Sites were selected for a variety of reasons.
Some sites offer watchers the
opportunity to see a large number of
birds, some have rare or endangered
birds and some offer a large number of
different bird species.
Visitors to the trail can see shorebirds,
wading birds, songbirds and birds of prey.
A visitor’s guide gives detailed directions
to each site, a list of birds you’re most
likely to see, Global Positioning System
coordinates for those who enjoy finding
spots by satellite and itineraries with
nearby attractions and activities.
A series of signs is posted at each site
giving directions and the “most likely
viewed” birds. While local birders may
think they already know their way
around North Alabama birding sites they
may be surprised. Some sites are new
and located on private land where birdwatchers
pull to the side of the road for
viewing or sites may be on land that
businesses are allowing the state to use.
Examples of some sites along the trail
include Winfred Thomas Agricultural
Research Station, Site #27 in the Central
Loop. There are extensive grasslands
and agricultural fields associated with
Alabama A&M’s field station which give
a rare open area to view native birds such
as grasshopper sparrows and eastern
meadowlarks.
Sites around the Huntsville area
include: Monte Sano State Park where
raptors can be seen gliding past “at eye
level” and Hays Nature Preserve, with
several miles of nature trails and featuring
both great blue and great green
heron.
Scottsboro sites include Goose Pond
Colony, a public recreational development
on the north side of Guntersville
Lake where bald eagles sometimes drop
by; Roy B. Whitaker Paint Rock River
Preserve, a former farm now owned by
the Nature Conservancy with rolling
fields where scissor-tailed flycatchers
perform aerial acrobatics and Skyline
Wildlife Management Area, wild lands
which are home to the state’s only population
of Ruffed Grouse.
Stevenson Town Park, at the town of
the same name, is on the side of Crow
Creek, an excellent spot for viewing
common loons and horned grebes; Russell
Cave National Monument, at Fort
Payne, has an elevated boardwalk and
trails to view summer and scarlet tanagers.
Explore Gorham’s Bluff/Coon
Gulf quietly by boat and you may come
upon green herons or great egrets.
>>FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The first North Alabama Birding
Festival will be held May 5-7, 2006. Call
1-866-238-4748 or visit www.northalabamabirdingtrail.com.
—Gail Fleenor
