The fifth annual Black Belt Birding Festival. Highlighting the birds, history, and heritage of Alabama's Black Belt region, the festival brings together the joy of birding with the benefits of ecotourism to a region of profoundly important ecology and civil rights history.
"We are super excited about this year's festival given that participation has surged over the past few years. Nowhere else can you see Wood Storks, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and Swallow-tailed Kites against a backdrop of bountiful grasslands and epic civil rights history."—Dr. Scot Duncan, Executive Director of Alabama Audubon.
Schedule of Events
Sumter Farm Birds and Wildflowers Walk - $30
7:00 am-9:00 am
Enjoy a guided bird walk through this 11,000 acre farm in Geiger, Alabama, managed and co-owned by Mitchell and Hazel Bell. Possibilities include Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, Dickcissels, Prairie Warbler, Orchard Oriole, Eastern Meadowlark, Field Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, and Eastern Kingbird. We will also admire the summer wildflowers and grasses that support Black Belt prairie birds, and the many pollinators and other insects upon which this unique ecosystem relies.
Driving Tour: National Historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March Trail Campsites 1 & 3 - $30
7:30 am - 10:30 am
Join us as we travel down the National Historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March Trail along Hwy 80, as we visit campsites 1 (David Hall Family Farm) & 3 (Robert Gardner Family Farm) used by foot soldiers en route to Alabama's capital. We will meet with family members who still live on this land, and learn about each family's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and how they came to host over 300 marchers, 1,000 military policemen, and 2,000 Army troops during the course of the march - which eventually swelled to 25,000 marchers entering Montgomery on March 25, 1965. The event is designed for birding from the car with occasional stops and minimal walking. Possibilities include some of the specialty bird species that breed in the area: Painted Buntings, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Bald Eagles, Loggerhead Shrikes, Dickcissels, and Eastern Meadowlarks. Vast grassland and cattle ranches nearby feed Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites.
M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area (Old State Cattle Ranch)$35
6:30 am - 9:00 am: One of the birdiest sites in the Black Belt, this site offers a mix of wetlands, prairie, and forest. Species we may see on this guided tour include Wood Stork, Anhinga, Blue-winged Teal, White Ibis, several heron and egret species, Indigo and Painted Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, Common Gallinules, American Kestrel (southeastern race), Eastern Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow Warbler, and Dickcissel. This is the best location for an unexpected species, including early migrant shorebirds, ducks, and terns.
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park - $30
6:30am - 9:00am
Visit Alabama's first capital and most famous ghost town, Old Cahawba. Situated between the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers and formerly inhabited by Mississippian Indian tribes, the once prominent town was abandoned shortly after the American Civil War. Birds we hope to see and hear on this guided hike through the ruins and bottomland forest include Orchard Oriole, Blue Grosbeak, Wood Thrush, various warblers and vireos, Summer Tanager, Broad-winged Hawk, Indigo Bunting, Acadian Flycatcher, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Entrance fee included in price. Find out more about Old Cahawba Archaeological Park here.
Perry Lakes Park: Birding by Canoe with the Cahaba River Society -$40
8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Join us the Cahaba River Society for an exciting morning of birding by canoe at Perry Lakes Park. Enjoy paddling between a series of oxbow lakes while on the lookout for Bald Eagle, Wood Duck, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Little Blue Heron, Northern Parula, Barred Owl, Red-eyed Vireo, and Summer Tanager. Oxbow lakes are past river channels that have been separated from the current channel through a number of sedimentation events. These lakes are areas that continue to hold water and can be reconnected with the river after flood events. These are oases of life for a vast array of insects, fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Cahaba River Society will provide the canoes, but if you'd like to bring your own canoe or kayak, please let us know in advance. Find out more about Perry Lakes Park here.
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