Field Trip: Tara Wildlife Spring Birding Weekend

UPDATE: Due to unforeseen conditions, this trip has been cancelled. Unfortunately Tara Wildlife has seen lots of flooding due to all the rain they’ve gotten in the last few months, and they aren’t able to host events at this time. They have been sending refunds to anyone who signed up on their website. If you run into any issues, however, feel free to email us.

Join us for a special overnight field trip to an old favorite, Tara Wildlife, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Tara’s annual Spring Birding Weekend offers excellent opportunities to view the spring migration of song birds and more in the Mississippi Flyway. They offer both casual birding opportunities and organized birding tours led by seasoned birders. Tara is adjacent to the Mississippi River, providing a beautiful landscape for birding.

The details: Attendees are responsible for their own travel and securing their own arrangements directly through Tara Wildlife for this event. Registration and more details are available at tarabirdingweekend.com. They have many options, from day passes to full weekend packages. Meals are available with advanced notice. When registering through their site, please include a note that you are with Birmingham Audubon so we can be housed near each other in their lodge. Also, please email the Outreach & Communications Director when you book your trip so we know who all from Birmingham Audubon will be at this event, including the names of those in your party along with your cell phone and email address.

As always, remember to bring plenty of water and snacks, a full tank of gas, insect repellent, rain gear, sunblock, and seasonally appropriate attire.

Accessibility: There is a ramp at the main building entrance that is fully accessible, and once on that level all of the other amenities are all accessible as well. There are two specially designed and outfitted handicap accessible rooms, with a chair in the shower and no step access. Handrails and specially designed bathroom and room amenities are installed also. The open air birding bus is not handicap accessible with a chair lift, but Greg Harber and a volunteer at Tara offered to lift anyone in a wheelchair onto the bus so they could readily participate in all of the birding activities since most of the birding is done from the bus.

(Questions about accessibility? Email us for more information about how we can meet your needs.)

The birds: We expect to find Indigo and Painted Buntings, Baltimore Orioles, and Bell’s Vireos among many others on this trip.

Trip leader: Greg Harber leads this trip. His cell number is 205-807-8055. For more information, email the Outreach & Communications Director.