Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
areas here will give you the best chance of spotting soaring raptors. With a variety of wood-
land and field habitats, Oak Mountain State Park provides for a variety of birds of prey. Win-
tering raptors include northern harrier and merlin. American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, red-
shouldered hawk, turkey vulture, and black vulture are year-round residents. Summer finds
broad-winged hawks in the park, and both migration seasons mean that any of those species
plus Cooper's hawk and sharp-shinned hawk could pass by on the wind currents along the
mountain side. At night, the woods of Oak Mountain State Park are sometimes filled with the
calls of barred owl, great horned owl, and eastern screech owl, all year-round residents.
To reach Oak Mountain State Park, take exit 246 (Cahaba Valley Road) off I-65; go west
and take the first road to the south that is west of the interstate; there are signs. This road
is State Park Road, and it will go south, then east under the interstate. When it comes to a
four-way intersection, turn left, and you will go straight into the park. There is a $1 per per-
son entrance fee. There is a back way into the park found by going east on north SH 119;
this back entrance to Oak Mountain State Park is located on SH 119, 5.7 miles from the in-
terstate, and the signs say “Oak Mountain Lake” but do not mention the park. A short drive
over a ridge on this road will take you into the park. After driving over a dam for one of the
park's lakes, this road will wind through the park and connect with the road coming in from
the main entrance.
More information, a map of the trails, and details about camping or renting a cottage can
be obtained by writing: Division of State Parks, Alabama Dept. of Conservation and Natur-
al Resources, 64 North Union Street, Montgomery, AL 36130. Or you can call 1-800-ALA-
PARK, nationwide.
BIRMINGHAM
Alabama's largest city started out as an industrial center where steel and iron were the
mainstays of the economy. Heavy industry still plays a big part in Birmingham, but the city
has broadened to become a commercial and banking center as well. Having grown to its cur-
rent size, Birmingham has lost most of its original wild bird habitat. Nonetheless, migrants
still stop here, particularly in the wooded suburbs on the south side of the city. Describing
where to bird in most of Birmingham would be difficult, but a call to the Alabama Ornitholo-
gical Society's Rare Bird Hotline, 205-987-2730, is worthwhile before any trip to the Birm-
ingham area, because rare accidentals are often sighted in Birmingham. Perhaps it is just the
greater number of birders there. For example, the only varied thrush seen in Alabama was
found in a yard in one of the wealthier bedroom communities south of town in early 1992.
