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Field Trip: Prattville and environs
July 28, 2018, 7:00 am–5:00 pm
Join us for the second of four great summer trips to Alabama’s Black Belt region. Participants on these trips regularly report Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites, Wood Storks, and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, as well as numerous other southern specialties, each one worth the drive!
In the morning, we’ll focus on some areas east of Autaugaville that have yielded sporadic sightings of Painted Buntings and Lark Sparrows in years past. After lunch at Chef Lee’s and a much-needed break from the mid-summer heat, we’ll drive to the south side of the Alabama river to look for kites. The picturesque ghost town at Robinson’s Switch Road is worth a visit as well—you may want to bring along a camera.
Given time, we’ll end the day with a visit to an alligator farm/heron rookery in Pine Level, south of Montgomery off US 231. (We normally have dinner at Red’s Little School House in Grady around 5:30 p.m., then depart for the rookery from there.) If you plan on participating in this optional side trip, be warned that it can make for a very long day in the field: leaving the rookery at sunset still leaves us with a two-hour drive back to Birmingham!
The details: Meetup is on the early side of 7 a.m. at the McDonald’s on US 31 in Hoover, located at 1731 Montgomery Highway, just across from the Galleria. It’ll most likely be a long, hot day, so be sure to bring the usual supplies: rehydrating drinks, snacks, a full tank of gas, insect repellent, rain gear, summer attire, and a healthy dollop of sunscreen. Since we’ll be stopping for lunch at a local restaurant, you’ll want to bring along some money, too.
The food: Chef Lee’s in Autaugaville; Red’s Little School House in Grady.
The birds: Check out the most recent eBird checklists for Autauga County here.
Trip leader: Greg Harber leads this trip; his cell is 205-807-8055 (day of field trip only). For more information, email the Outreach Director.
