Advanced Search Module

Close Search

Featured Sites

Conecuh National Forest

The 83,000 acres of the Conecuh house scores of Red-cockaded Woodpecker colonies and hundreds of Bachman’s Sparrows in the pine forests. You’ll find breeding Anhingas, Purple Gallinules, Common Moorhens, King Rails, and Least Bitterns in its wetlands, and Swallow-tailed Kites and Painted Buntings thinly scattered throughout the forest. Packed with breeding birds and a haven for wintering songbirds and waterfowl, the Conecuh deserves to be listed in the highest echelon of birding sites in Alabama.

Eufala National Wildlife Refuge

Eufaula NWR has three units: Upland and Kennedy off US 431, and the Bradley on the Georgia side of the river. Upland has a motor trail which winds through pine woods, grassy fields, and marshy areas. It is excellent for waterfowl, sparrows, and raptors in winter, and grassland species and some waders in the warm months. Kennedy is composed of marshes and sloughs south, and the lake north. It can be spectacular for wetland songbirds and waders, including bitterns and waterfowl in winter. Access to the extensive marshes in the Kennedy is by foot only – a five-mile round trip.

Backbone Boat Ramp

Scarcely five minutes from Demopolis, the Backbone recreational area is an achingly beautiful Cypress swamp, deserving of a lingering visit. The tiny site may be easily birded in less than an hour, though you’ll want to tarry longer. Prothonotary Warblers, Redstarts, Northern Parulas, and Yellow-throated Warblers are conspicuous; watch for Anhingas, Purple Gallinules, and Common Moorhens. You can see Painted Buntings here, and expect Wood Ducks, with other waders and waterfowl present in season.

James D Martin Heronry

This heronry is easily accessed and viewable from a mall parking lot or from the shoulder of I-759. The nests are occupied from late March through late May or early June. During most years, there are nesting Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Some years there are Green Herons, Black-crowned Night cerons, or Double-crested Cormorants. Outside the nesting season, the trees serve as roosts for Cormorants and hunting perches for the occasional Bald Eagle.

Ten Islands Historical Park

Though the park itself is small, there is a vast amount of excellent habitat here – the entrance road provides shoreline access to deep water, pullout areas to check grassy edges and early second-growth pines. There is a good wooded trail from the parking lot along a finger of the lake. The park is good for songbirds, swallows, waterfowl, raptors, and more. A better all-around birding site than the more conspicuous dam across Highway 144.

Fox Creek at Lake Wedowee

Expect to see swallows and Purple Martins in spring and summer, and Belted Kingfishers, wading birds, and Wood Ducks throughout the year. During the winter months, additional waterfowl, gulls, and terns appear. Keep your eyes peeled for Ospreys and Bald Eagles.

Sites

Appalachian Highlands
(36 Sites)

Latest Sites 01/21/2013

North Alabama
(50 Sites)

Latest Sites 09/14/2012

Piedmont Plateau
(34 Sites)

Latest Sites 11/16/2011

West Alabama
(32 Sites)

Latest Sites 01/21/2013

Wiregrass
(20 Sites)

Latest Sites 08/13/2012

More Sites

West Blocton Coke Ovens Park

Easily surveyed in a couple of hours, Coke Ovens Park is a worthwhile stop near the Cahaba National Wildlife Reserve, the Bibb Glades, and Living River. In addition to customary woodland canopy birds and open county species such as Eastern Kingbirds and Bluebirds, the major attraction is the small stream that parallels the park’s primary N-S road; which provides opportunities to see Swainson’s Warblers and Acadian Flycatchers up close.

More Info
Ruffner Mountain Wetlands: Alabama Birding Trails

Ruffner Mountain Wetlands

The only significant water on the enormous Ruffner Mountain Nature Center property is this wetland at the end of a mile-long hike from Ruffner Rd. This series of small marshes traversed by an attractive boardwalk can make for a pleasant, active half-day of birding.

More Info

Talladega Mountains Natural Resource Center

The Talladega Mountains Natural Resource Center (a partnership between Jacksonville State University, the Cleburne County Commission and the Talladega National Forest) opened in November, 2012. The Mountain Center houses the JSU Field Schools and will act as a visitor center to “the highest concentration of nationally protected natural areas” in the country. The JSU Field [...]

More Info