Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
forest on top of several pretty hills holds a number of nesting trees for the woodpecker. These
trees are marked with twelve-inch bands of blue paint. This colony covers a fairly large area,
and by listening carefully for the bird, one should be able to find the woodpecker at almost
any time of day and year. Dawn and spring nesting season increase one's chances of see-
ing the woodpeckers. Also in these woods, particularly in the spring, look for pine warbler,
prairie warbler (particularly in the clearcut), yellow-throated warbler, summer tanager, indigo
bunting, eastern peewee, and a variety of sparrows.
If this area is unproductive for the woodpecker, go just 0.2 mile further down SH 25; on the
right (northern side) will be a jeep track leading up a hill into some obviously managed pines.
Wherever there are woodpeckers in the Oakmulgee, the Forest Service cuts out the hardwood
understory and actively manages the sites for the woodpeckers' benefit. Areas so managed
are easily spotted when driving along the roads of this forest, as these areas have many large
pines within an open, grassy expanse. There are a number of nesting trees in the woods on
this hillside, and you can follow the jeep track up the hill through the center of these pines.
Watch for palm warblers during the winter and early Spring.
The Oakmulgee ranger station is located on the east side of SH 5, just south of where it in-
tersects with US 82, north of Brent. Information about the forest and about other places to try
to find red-cockaded woodpeckers can be obtained here, but only on weekdays; the station is
closed on the weekends. The many forest roads are dirt, but the vast majority of them are well
maintained and passable to any car. Describing the sites of all the red-cockaded woodpecker
colonies on the Oakmulgee is well beyond the scope of this topic, but the folks at the ranger
station can show you where they all are, if you are interested in seeing them. A number of
environmental groups in Alabama are trying to get Congress to designate part of the Oakmul-
gee as a wilderness area in order to give the woodpeckers even more legal protection.
Other than the opportunity to see red-cockaded woodpeckers in perhaps their last major
stronghold, Oakmulgee offers the species normally seen in the central Alabama woodlands
and foothills. Pine warblers and brown-headed nuthatches are quite abundant, as are the more
common varieties of woodpeckers.
Talladega and Shoal Creek Ranger Districts
Located east of Birmingham in the highest range of mountains in Alabama, these two
combined ranger districts provide excellent hiking, camping, and backpacking opportunities.
Once home to a fair number of red-cockaded woodpeckers, this portion of the Talladega is
now nothing like the Oakmulgee Division; the number of active colonies here is down to vir-
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