State of Alabama

• Suzanne & Michael Owens

• Number of bird species: 446

  As at July 2017

• A Guide to the Birds of the Southeastern States: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi

  | By John H Rappole | Florida University Presses | 2006 | Paperback | 336 pages, 420 colour photos, 379 distribution maps | ISBN: 9780813028613 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Alabama Bird Watching: A Year-Round Guide

  | By Bill Thompson III | Cool Springs Press | 2004 | Paperback | ISBN: 9781591860990 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Alabama Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species

  | By James Kavanagh | Waterford Press | 2001 | Unbound | ISBN: 9781583551301 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birder's Guide to Alabama

  | By John F Porter | Alabama University Press | 2001 | Spiralbound | 368 Pages + 75 B&W Illustrations & 50 Maps | ISBN: 9780817310523 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birder's Guide to Alabama and Mississippi

  | By R Vaughan | Rowman & Littlefield | 1994 | Paperback | 232 pages, B/w illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9780884150558 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birder's Guide to Alabama and Mississippi

  | By Ray Vaughan | Rowman & Littlefield | 1994 | Paperback | 232 Pages | ISBN: 9780884150558 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Alabama

  | By Marc Parnell | Naturalist & Traveler Press} 2022 | Paperback | 308 pages, colour photos| ISBN: 9781954228252 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Alabama Field Guide

  | By Stan Tekiela | Adventurekeen | 2006 | Paperback | 350 Pages + Colour Photos | ISBN: 9781591931515 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• State Bird

  Yellowhammer [Northern Flicker] Colaptes auratus

• Alabama Coastal BirdFest

  Information
  The 15th Annual John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest: A Birding & Nature Festival - October 4–7, 2018

• Festival of the Cranes

  Facebook Page
  The Festival of the Cranes will be at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, southeast of Decatur. See thousands of wintering sandhill cranes as well as whooping cranes and white pelicans. Considered the easternmost refuge in the Mississippi Flyway, it attracts thousands of wintering waterfowl each year and is home to Alabama’s largest wintering duck population.

• Alabama Museum of Natural History

  Website
  The ornithological collection consists of bird skins, eggs, and nests. The skin collection, numbering nearly fifteen hundred specimens, rests largely on the work of two men. The work of the first, Dr. William Avery, an avid collector and observer of birds in the late 1800s near Greensboro, is a collection of bird skins which constitute almost one-half of the collection at the museum…

• Alabama Bird Records Committee

  Webpage
  The Alabama Bird Records Committee (ABRC) is the arm of AOS that reviews species sightings for admission to the official state records list, in order to assure the credibility and scientific value of the records.

• Alabama Ornithological Society

  Website
  The Alabama Ornithological Society (AOS) was founded in 1952 to foster a greater knowledge of birds and to promote conservation of all natural resources. The purpose of this site is to share information about birds and birding in Alabama, and to promote conservation of bird habitat.

• Alabama Wildbird Conservation Association

  Website
  Devoted to Helping Birds from the Backyard to the Boondocks…

• Audubon Society in Alabama

  Website
  Searchable list

• Birmingham Audubon Society

  Facebook Page
  Founded in 1946, Birmingham Audubon is Alabama’s leading non-profit organization engaging people in the enjoyment and conservation of birds, their habitats, and the natural world. A certified chapter of the National Audubon Society serving central Alabama (Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Blount, Chilton, St. Clair, and Walker Counties), we incorporated as a state non-profit corporation on November 22, 1974, and were granted 501(c)3 status as a charitable non-profit organization in 1976.

• Cullman Audubon

  Website
  Meetings, contacts and newsletters…

• Francis M Weston Audubon Society

  Website
  Our purpose is to promote the understanding and preservation of wildlife and the environment that supports it. Our goals are preserving, protecting, and restoring wildlife habitat. Our main activities are advocacy, education, and volunteer projects.

• Hummingbird Research, Inc.

  Website
  Fred began researching winter hummingbirds in the southeastern United States in 1997 with a primary focus on south Alabama and Florida. From 1998 to 2008, Fred banded 1,598 wintering hummingbirds of ten species in those two states. His ground-breaking research was documented in "Wintering hummingbirds in Alabama and Florida: species diversity, sex and age ratios, and site fidelity," a scientific paper coauthored with Doreen Cubie and published in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Field Ornithology, a peer-reviewed publication

• Mobile Bay Audubon Society

  Website
  The Mobile Bay Audubon Society, founded in 1971, is a chapter of the National Audubon Society. Our mission is to promote the conservation of Earth`s biological diversity by encouraging an appreciation of birds and other wildlife, along with an understanding of the ecological requirements necessary to their survival

• Nature Conservancy in Alabama

  Webpage
  Welcome to the home page of the Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy! Here you'll find information on the many ways we're working with the people of the state and the nation to help preserve the diversity of living things by protecting the habitats - land, water, and air - in which they live…

• North Alabama Birdwatcher's Society

  Website
  The North Alabama Birdwatchers Society (NABS) is truly a birding group for everyone, from beginners to experts. We will visit a variety of beautiful areas across northern Alabama , most of which are included on the North Alabama Birding Trail (NABT). By birding with NABS you'll have the opportunity to go out with experienced people who are familiar with the areas we visit and who love to share their knowledge. NABS also provides greater access to certain natural areas where birding by car is restricted to groups

• Shoals Audubon Society

  Website
  The Shoals Audubon Society serves The Shoals area of northwest Alabama with active members in Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, and Russelville. Our membership extends to Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, and Lawrence counties of Alabama as well as Lawrence county, Tennessee…

• Tennessee Valley Audubon Society

  Facebook Page
  Welcome to TVAS! We're the local Audubon Society serving the Limestone, Madison, and Morgan county area of North Alabama, including Huntsville, Decatur, Madison, and Athens.

Abbreviations Key

• Alabama Birding Trails

  WebsiteSatellite View
  With 270 sites covering Alabama from the mountains to the gulf, the Alabama Birding Trails provide a roadmap of the best public lands to watch the birds. Over 430 different bird species have been spotted in Alabama. Come see what you can find! Get out and explore!

• Alabama Coastal Birding Trail

  WebsiteSatellite View
  The Alabama Coastal Birding Trail (ACBT) describes the birding spots most frequented by Alabama birders. This trail was developed during the late 1990s and officially opened soon afterward to offer bird enthusiasts an opportunity to view and enjoy a high diversity of bird species representative of Alabama’s Gulf Coast and to promote birding through tourism in the region.

• Alabama's Parks

  WebpageSatellite View
  28 State Parks • 4 State Forests • 1 State Fish Hatchery 2 State Nurserys • 7 State Wildlife Management Areas • 1 State Wildlife Refuge 1 State Fish Hatchery • 4 National Forests • 1 National Historic Landmark 2 National Historic Sites • 1 National Historic Park • 10 National Wildlife Refuges

• Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island

  WebpageSatellite View
  Although first colonized in the 1600s, it was not until 1954 that a 3 1/2mile bridge was built connecting Dauphin Island to the mainland. During this development phase, the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board was created to provide recreation opportunities for the citizens of Alabama…

• Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuaries

  ArticleSatellite View
  Dauphin Island , Alabama is one of the top birding spots in the Southeast. An incredible 347 species have been reported on the island. Spring migration is the first landfall for many Neotropical birds who make the 600-mile flight across the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula. Under adverse weather conditions, large flocks of exhausted birds of many species may seek shelter on the Island in a truly spectacular 'fall-out'.

• NF William B Bankhead

  InformationSatellite View
  Within the forest lies the Sipsey Wilderness, with a host of wildlife and an abundance of swift streams, limestone bluffs, and waterfalls.

• NWA Little River

  WebpageSatellite View
  Little River is unique because it flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs.

• NWR Bon Secour

  WebpageSatellite View
  With over 360 different species of birds documented on the refuge, Bon Secour is a birder's paradise. Spring and fall bring an array of color with spectacular migratory bird populations traveling between their breeding and wintering grounds.

• NWR Cahaba River

  WebpageSatellite View
  Cahaba River NWR is one of nation's newest National Wildlife Refuges, the 540th in fact. It was established September 25, 2002 for the purpose of protecting and managing a unique section of the Cahaba River and land adjacent to it. Cahaba River NWR is home to five federally listed species including the Cahaba shiner, goldline darter, round rocksnail, and cylindrical lioplax snail.

• NWR Choctaw

  WebpageSatellite View
  Although what is now Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge was once part of the territory belonging to the Choctaw Nation of Indians, there is little left today to remind us of this Indian history except for the names of local streams…

• NWR Eufaula

  WebpageSatellite View
  he Chattahoochee River valley historically provided thousands of acres of seasonal wetlands. These wetlands were inundated by winter floods, slowly dried throughout the growing season, and were again flooded the following winter. As the flooded areas dried in the spring, they were colonized by plants. Many of these plants produced seed that became food for migrating waterfowl in the winter. Because the river rarely floods, the refuge uses a system of pumps and other water control structures to mimic the historic conditions, and provide a valuable resource to wintering birds.

• NWR Fern Cave

  WebpageSatellite View
  Here at Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, there is a unique array of residents living in the cave, in addition to the endangered bats. One survey expedition by a biologist and geologist documented cave fish (Typhlichthys subterraneous), bluegill (Lepomis machrochirus), yellow bullhead catfish (Ictalurus natalis), cave salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga), northern slimy salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus), honey-colored crickets (Othoptera: Euhadonecus), mosquitoes (Diptera: Clulicidae), crane flies (Tipulidae), heliomyzid flies (Diptera: Heliomyzidae), frogs (Anura), and white millipedes (Diplopoda). Above ground, white-tailed deer, turkeys, migratory songbirds, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, and rabbits abound.

• NWR Key Cave

  WebpageSatellite View
  The Refuge consists of rolling grassland, upland hardwoods, and crop land. Past farming practices have led to severe soil erosion problems. Initial management efforts were focused on controlling erosion, thus enhancing the water quality entering the underground cave system to benefit the endangered species inhabiting Key Cave.

• NWR Mountain Longleaf

  WebpageSatellite View
  Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge is situated within the Southern Appalachian Mountain Range between Atlanta, Georgia (90 miles) and Birmingham, Alabama. The refuge is situated along the rugged landscape of Choccolocco Mountain, one of the highest mountain ridges in Alabama. High elevation vistas (2063 feet ASL) provide an array of beautiful fall colors and breathtaking views of the surrounding region. Hardwood forests along mountain ridges contain species typical of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north, while slopes and lower elevations are covered by longleaf pine and hardwoods commonly associated with the Coastal Plain.

• NWR Sauta Cave

  WebpageSatellite View

• NWR Watercress Darter

  WebpageSatellite View
  The watercress darter is a small, very colorful fish measuring up to 2.5 inches in length. The fish is currently found in only five sites in the upper Black Warrior River drainage near Birmingham, Alabama. They are found only at mid-depths in dense accumulations of aquatic vegetation including watercress, in springs and spring runs.

• NWR Wheeler

  WebpageSatellite View
  Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge provides excellent habitat for many species of native wildlife. A total of 300 species of birds, 47 species of mammals, 75 species of reptiles and amphibians, 115 species of fish, 38 species of freshwater mussels, and 26 species of freshwater snails have been documented on the refuge.

• Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve

  WebsiteSatellite View
  A 1000-acre nature preserve in the heart of the city, dedicated to preservation, education, and recreation for everyone. Ruffner Mountain Nature Center is an oasis of green space in the midst of Alabama's largest city. Watch for hawks in the sky and lizards in the woods. Explore the sites of now-abandoned iron ore mines and a former limestone quarry. Learn about natural and industrial history on one of our naturalist-led programs.

• SP DeSoto

  InformationSatellite View
  It borders the Little River, which flows into the nearby Little River Canyon National Preserve. The 104-foot-tall (32m) DeSoto Falls, the state's highest waterfall, is found in a separate part of the park 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the main park.

• SP Lake Guntersville

  WebpageSatellite View
  But winter is the best time to find a greater variety of animals including loons that migrate to the area from northern climes, canada geese, several species of herons, a broad selection of ducks, and perhaps the most spectacular of all, the bald eagle!

• Alabama Rare Bird Alert

  Sightings
  The report shows observations of rare birds in Alabama. Includes both unreviewed and reviewed/approved observations.

• Albirds

  Mailing Group
  ...for the discussion of wild birds, birdwatching and birding related issues (conservation, field trips, etc...) in Alabama (conservation, field trips, etc…) in Alabama More info: http://www.bham.net/aos

• Bird Treks

  Tour Operator
  Bird Treks has been providing small group and custom birding tours for over 20 years. Visit their website to see the incredible tours available, including Dauphin Island, Alabama!

• Birding Ecotours

  Tour Operator
  Birding Ecotours, a leader in small group and custom-made birding adventures worldwide, offers an amazing tour to Dauphin Island in April to experience songbird migration as they arrive in the United States!

• Naturalist Journeys

  Tour Operator
  Join Naturalist Journeys for a spring migration tour! Discover Dauphin Island, one of North America’s top spring migration destinations! Of Alabama’s 445 bird species, 95% have been seen here. This is where migrants first see land after crossing over the Gulf; a critical rest and rejuvenation stop.

• 2016 [03 March - May] - Bruce Wedderburn - Southeast USA for Spring Migration

  Report
  This was a two-month trip to southeast USA for Yvonne and myself, from late March through to late May, with a focus on the Spring migration, in particular the highly varied and colourful warblers.

• 2017 [04 April] - Andrew Haffenden

  PDF Report
  We then headed south to Dauphin Island, where along the causeway and bridge Snowy Egret, Brown and White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorant, Royal, Caspian, and Forster’s Terns, and Osprey were seen...

• 2021 [04 April] - Andrew Haffenden

  PDF Report
  Arrival day birding began about 3pm, and in 3 hours we had over 60 species racked up, including specialty regional Reddish Egret, and often at the difficult end of getting such as Ovenbird and Worm-eating Warbler. An early Prairie Warbler was also nice, and the start of our daily sightings of Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Blue and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Prothonatory Warblers started this afternoon. Unfortunately, Larry and Fran got the start date wrong and were unable to join us until after lunch Monday, but they pretty much caught up on everything we saw, save some shorebirds

• 2022 [04 April] - Drew Haffenden

  PDF Report
  ... Early April is always an interesting time on Dauphin, as Spring migrants are arriving yet some of our winter birds remain. So, it proved today, as the group saw new arrivals Hooded and Black-and-white Warblers, but also over-winterers such as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Yellow-rumped Warbler. After the Shell Mounds we went to the small airport on the island, well-known among birders for being one of the best places anywhere to see Clapper Rail, which many people have heard but never seen, and often other marsh birds...

• Bay Breeze B&B

  Accommodation
  Open decks are for lounging in the sun, fishing or crabbing. During the summer and early fall months you may be privileged to take part in an unpredictable seafood Jubilee. Guest are invited to share the spectacular view of historic Mobile Bay from the sitting room with its cozy fireplace, the glassed porch bay room and living room. The family kitchen where breakfast is served each morning allows you to watch the seagulls wheel and dip through the air and the aerially graceful pelicans as they plummet into the bay for fish.

• Alabama Birding Trails

  Website
  With over 430 bird species documented in Alabama, there’s more to see here than you can imagine. Watching a Bald Eagle feeding babies in the nest near Guntersville State Park? Check! Sitting quietly as dozens of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks literally crash-land into the nearest tree on Dauphin Island. Absolutely! These are just two of the stops along this series of 8 trails and 280 stops.

• Alabama Birding Trails

  Website
  With 270 sites covering Alabama from the mountains to the gulf, the Alabama Birding Trails provide a roadmap of the best public lands to watch the birds. Over 430 different bird species have been spotted in Alabama. Come see what you can find! Get out and explore!

• Birds

  Website
  Since man started keeping records, about 380 species of birds have been seen and recorded in the area now known as Alabama

• Birds of Alabama

  Website
  Birds are warm-blooded (body temperature is internally regulated and constant, regardless of the external temperature), egg-laying, feathered vertebrates with forelimbs modified to form wings.