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Birmingham Audubon Society
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Monthly Meeting - Join us at the Birmingham Zoo for our exciting and informative Monthly Meetings and featured speakers.
Audubon Teaches Nature - Oak Mountain Wildlife Center and Interpretive Center offer a perfect setting for our family friendly educational series offered on Sunday afternoons.
Flying Wild - Teachers love using Flying Wild with their students. Sign up for a workshop soon!
BAS Executive Director Position Opening - The Birmingham Audubon Society (BAS) is seeking an Executive Director to fulfill its mission of advocating conservation and promoting greater knowledge and enjoyment of birds, other wildlife, plants and habitats through educational programs and events.
Click here for more information.
 The Whooping Cranes are in Alabama, still!!
Operation Migration's ultralight-led migration flock of endangered Whooping Cranes is making its way from Wisconsin to Florida for the winter. Their migration route includes 5 stopovers in Alabama.
UPDATE: Fri.Jan.20, 2012 The Whooping Cranes are still in Franklin County,AL and waiting on favorable weather and wind conditions to resume their southward migration. Check the BAS website or visit Operation Migration Field Journal., Check Operation Migration Map to see updated migration progress.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 January 2012 13:38 )
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January Field Trips
Lock 17 and Environs
January 21, 2012 - 7:00 a.m.
 The Black Warrior River or the Warrior, as it is known locally, has been harnessed by a series of locks and dams, creating large impoundments providing electricity and drinking water. These impoundments also are magnets for wintering visitors, Bald Eagles in particular. One of the first locks, Lock 17, near Holt Lock and Dam is located in western Jefferson County. And on January 21, BAS field trippers will visit the area in hopes of viewing the eagles and other species.
Travel Plans: Meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Hoover McDonald's on US-31 (across from the Galleria). We will spend the morning birding in and around the river. Jean Folsom, Vice-President Education and Chairman of the Education, Sales, and Website Committees, has graciously offered her riverside cabin for a respite and meal break at midday.
This is a full day trip, so bring hot drinks, sandwich, snacks & nibbles, binoculars and, if you have one, a spotting scope. Have a full tank of gas. Dress warmly and in layers as the weather this time of year can be changeable.
For further information or questions, please contact the trip leader, Maureen Shaffer at 205-822-8728 (H) or 205-222-2662 (M).
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 January 2012 13:44 )
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Lost Soles and Snipe Hunting in the Bankhead
BAS Bankhead Field Trip Report December 3, 2011
 Thirteen field trippers left Birmingham promptly at 7 am and drove to the Bankhead Forest to enjoy the birds, the waterfalls and all the beauty that makes the Bankhead Forest such a delight. Our first stop was the Kinlock Shelter, a massive c liff rock shelter on the western side of the Bankhead, which has attracted  people for thousands of years. American Beauty Berry was in abundantly fruiting at the mouth to the shelter. The protected moist parts of the cliff were filled with ferns and liverworts and lots of other plants. We saw Black and Turkey Vultures, Juncos, and Blue Jays here. A few minutes down the road from the Shelter we stopped at Hubbard Falls. Hemlocks shroud this beautiful 45 degree cascade that rolls into a narrow cliff lined canyon. The path down was a little tricky but offered a great view of the canyon and the falls.
Our lunch break was at the Sipsey River Picnic grounds. We found a beautiful spot beside the river and enjoyed our lunch. Only after lunch did we determine that the picnic tables were on the shelf above the spot where we were  sitting. Here we saw Belted Kingfisher, American Goldfinch, Yellow bellied Sapsucker, and dusky salamanders on the hike up stream after lunch. From the Sipsey River we pushed on to the Brushy Lake Recreation Area.  The wind was blowing and we saw some Pied Billed Grebes, and Phoebes with their creamy breasts. A small brown snake (Dekays ) was also encountered. For our last stop of the day we intended to visit Angel Falls, but the deer hunters made us reconsider and we backtracked to Upper Goldmine Creek falls. This falls is a short hike from the road and no hunters appeared to be in the proximity. We visited the beautiful falls, seeing, Golden-Crowned kinglets and Red Bellied Woodpeckers. Kristin Bakkegard found more salamanders for us at the bottom of the waterfall. During this walk Mat Hunter experienced shoe failure. His entire sole came off the bottom of his boot. As the sun was setting we found ourselves in the dark forest and can clearly report that after an extensive search in this area we found no Snipes. In addition to Kristin and Matt, participants included Ken Archambault, Janice Bonnett, Jim King, Linda Harman, John Morgan, Carolyn and Phil Sankey, Lynn and Bill Niebuhr and Lori Oswald and Hans Paul.
Photos by John Hugh Morgan. View more of John's spectacular photos from this trip.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 December 2011 15:14 )
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Read more: Trip Reports
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