Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Painted Bunting
Fall migration is more spaced out, depending upon the type of birds involved. Terns, par-
ticularly black terns, will begin their migration as early as July; the mouth of Mobile Bay is a
major staging area for black terns in their migration to South America, and thousands at one
time can sometimes be encountered. Southward songbird migration is more spread-out than
spring migration north, and so any time from late summer through autumn may provide you
with a good day of birding. Many of the later migrants are ducks. During the winter, Dauph-
in Island is an excellent place to find many wintering birds, including mergansers, common
loon, red-breasted nuthatch, eared grebe, horned grebe, and palm warbler. Often, the common
loons will not leave until April. Arctic loon and red-throated loon are rare winter visitors to
the island.
The island has a number of hot spots, and if one is not very productive at a particular time,
then you can easily travel to another place and check out the action there.
The island is also a magnet for accidentals. Northern goshawk, scissor-tailed flycatcher,
groove-billed ani, western tanager, black-whiskered vireo, shiny cowbird (which is increas-
ing its presence in the area) and many other species rare for this region have been sighted
here.
