Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mer tanager, Louisiana waterthrush, and others forage in the yards of the homes on the island.
Often, the best views of these birds can be had by just stopping along the road and watch-
ing them in a yard. During spring, the residents are used to people in cars driving slowly and
stopping to stare at birds through binoculars.
BON SECOUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge consists of five units that total over 4,000 acres.
Three of these units are inaccessible except by boat, but the two units that are readily access-
ible are also wonderful spots for birding. Many unique species that accidentally wander into
Alabama find landfall at Fort Morgan. The fort is owned by the state, and the state's land is
bordered on the east by the Fort Morgan Unit of the refuge. Here is the very western tip of
Fort Morgan Peninsula, and one can easily watch birds over Mobile Bay and along the coast.
If you are lucky, you can stand on the dock at the mouth of the Bay and watch dolphins pass
from the gulf into the bay, or vice versa. Exploring the fort itself is an interesting way to pass
a couple of hours, and its walls provide excellent vantage points for watching birds in all dir-
ections. Many times, birds in migration or rare wanderers can be seen merely resting in the
grass around the fort.
Some of the rarities and unusual occasionals seen at Fort Morgan include little gull (one
was seen in April 1992), white-winged dove, gray kingbird, buff-breasted sandpiper, black-
whiskered vireo, scissor-tailed flycatcher, magnificent frigatebird, northern gannet, black-
shouldered kite, and burrowing owl. Also being seen more often at Fort Morgan are the
unwelcome shiny and bronzed cowbirds. More common migrants include the full range of
migratory warblers and vireos, orioles, summer tanager, scarlet tanager, ruby-throated hum-
mingbird, indigo bunting, painted bunting, blue grosbeak, rose-breasted grosbeak, bobolink,
clay-colored sparrow, and many more. The fort is a major first stop for many different mi-
grating birds in the spring and an important last stop in the fall.
This area consists of open, grassy fields with flowers, pine and oak woods, marshes, and
bay and beach shoreline. Migrating upland sandpipers can sometimes be seen at the grassy
areas. Brown pelican and various terns and gulls are regular on both shores. Double-cres-
ted cormorant can be seen on the pilings on the bay side. The beach goes from Fort Mor-
gan to the national wildlife refuge and is an excellent place for shorebirds and various terns
and gulls. Possible here in migration are semipalmated sandpiper, stilt sandpiper, and less-
er golden plover. Year-round shorebird residents include snowy plover, black-bellied plover
(rare in summer), American oystercatcher, and willet. Wilson's plover is an occasional sum-
mer resident. Winter brings a number of shorebirds, including piping plover, semipalmated
plover, ruddy turnstone, red knot, sanderling, dunlin, least sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, and
western sandpiper.
