Alabama Front Porches: The official website for Alabama's Black Belt

Off the Porch with Judy and Don Self The 12th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count, our 4-day mid-winter avian scavenger hunt was great fun. At last count, our species total was 70 for Gallion. The weather was great as usual and the birds were for the most part cooperative. Blue-headed vireos, loggerhead shrikes, and hermit [...]

For a variety of habitats in a compact area, it’s hard to beat the US Corps of Engineers Haines Island Park. Whether you’re inclined to drive, hike, canoe or kayak, Haines Island offers a fantastic opportunity to observe nature in a unique setting. Birding can be spectacular in April and May as Neotropical migrants pause to refuel in the luxuriant hardwoods of the park. The summer months offer over 100 species of breeding birds. Fall again funnels large numbers of migrants through the park. And the thick undergrowth along the lake margins shelter large flocks of finches and sparrows in winter.

With spring migration winding down and the breeding season in full swing, May is a great time to bird southwest Alabama’s floodplain forests. Two of our favorites are Old Lock 1 Park and Bashi Creek Public Use Area. Both are maintained by the US Corps of Engineers. Management Rd, Demopolis, AL 36732; phone: 334-289-3540 and both provide excellent access to the backwaters of the Tombigbee River.

Off the Porch with Judy and Don Self No, not the 4-wheeled kind, the winged, 1/10th ounce, southbound kind. Fall migration of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds is in full swing. It began back in late July, but peaks here at Almosta Farm in mid-September. But those of you who enjoy feeding them are already well aware [...]

Off the Porch with Judy and Don Self Alabama birders have long enjoyed birding the Jackson Water Treatment Ponds (see page 65 of A Birder’s Guide to Alabama, Porter editor, 2001). But we only recently stumbled upon two additional gems located just 3.5 miles to the west of the treatment ponds. Parker Lake and Kimbell [...]