with Judy and Don Self
Last week the birding bug bit us hard! First, we strayed w-a-a-a-y off the porch, to Tennessee in fact, to see a snowy owl. Then, we decided to do even more mid-winter birding at one of our favorite spots, Haines Island Park. This beautiful park is in northwestern Monroe County and is maintained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. It is one of the sites that will be part of the proposed Piney Woods Birding Trail (more on that in the future). It is also home to the threatened red hills salamander.
The park's terrain is a study of contrasts. The southern half of the park lies in the uplands of the Buhrstone Questa, an east-west line of rugged hills that extends across southwestern Alabama and rises more than 300 feet above the adjacent Alabama River flood plain. The hillsides are covered by mature hardwood forest. The canopy consists of a variety of oaks with a few scattered pines and magnolias. The understory contains American beech, big-leaf and southern magnolia and American holly.
The northern half of the park occupies the flood plain of the Alabama River. The terrain is flat and swampy with a shallow lake wedged between the questa and the river. Water oaks and sweet gums are joined by a few bald cypress in the lowland hardwood forest. The juxtaposition of the riparian and upland habitats makes for excellent birding.
There are two hiking trails, Big-leaf Magnolia and Ironwood, along the base of the questa, but we chose to bird the hardwoods in the picnic area and around the ferry. We spent an hour and a half birding and encountered 31 species.
We watched several flights of wood ducks around the lake and double-crested cormorant, great blue herons, and great egrets flying up and down the river. A kettle of turkey vultures began to form across the river, while a red-shouldered hawk and a belted kingfisher hunted from the sweet gum snags along the lake. A barred owl gave us an unexpected serenade. A yellow-bellied sapsucker and red-headed, red-bellied, and downy woodpeckers provided a background of gentle tapping while northern flicker, blue jay, and American crow added more raucous notes. Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, pine and yellow-rumped warblers and a lone brown creeper moved through the trees in a mixed feeding flock. A pair of Carolina wrens gave us a good scolding. A pair of eastern bluebirds and an eastern phoebe hawked insects near the ferry while flocks of cedar waxwings and American robins feasted on a berry breakfast. The weeds were filled with swamp, song, and white-throated sparrows, American goldfinches, and northern cardinals. Not a bad winter morning, in our humble opinion!
Last week the birding bug bit us hard! First, we strayed w-a-a-a-y off the porch, to Tennessee in fact, to see a snowy owl. Then, we decided to do even more mid-winter birding at one of our favorite spots, Haines Island Park. This beautiful park is in northwestern Monroe County and is maintained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. It is one of the sites that will be part of the proposed Piney Woods Birding Trail (more on that in the future). It is also home to the threatened red hills salamander.The park's terrain is a study of contrasts. The southern half of the park lies in the uplands of the Buhrstone Questa, an east-west line of rugged hills that extends across southwestern Alabama and rises more than 300 feet above the adjacent Alabama River flood plain. The hillsides are covered by mature hardwood forest. The canopy consists of a variety of oaks with a few scattered pines and magnolias. The understory contains American beech, big-leaf and southern magnolia and American holly.
The northern half of the park occupies the flood plain of the Alabama River. The terrain is flat and swampy with a shallow lake wedged between the questa and the river. Water oaks and sweet gums are joined by a few bald cypress in the lowland hardwood forest. The juxtaposition of the riparian and upland habitats makes for excellent birding.There are two hiking trails, Big-leaf Magnolia and Ironwood, along the base of the questa, but we chose to bird the hardwoods in the picnic area and around the ferry. We spent an hour and a half birding and encountered 31 species.
We watched several flights of wood ducks around the lake and double-crested cormorant, great blue herons, and great egrets flying up and down the river. A kettle of turkey vultures began to form across the river, while a red-shouldered hawk and a belted kingfisher hunted from the sweet gum snags along the lake. A barred owl gave us an unexpected serenade. A yellow-bellied sapsucker and red-headed, red-bellied, and downy woodpeckers provided a background of gentle tapping while northern flicker, blue jay, and American crow added more raucous notes. Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, pine and yellow-rumped warblers and a lone brown creeper moved through the trees in a mixed feeding flock. A pair of Carolina wrens gave us a good scolding. A pair of eastern bluebirds and an eastern phoebe hawked insects near the ferry while flocks of cedar waxwings and American robins feasted on a berry breakfast. The weeds were filled with swamp, song, and white-throated sparrows, American goldfinches, and northern cardinals. Not a bad winter morning, in our humble opinion!