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Field Trip: BIRDingham Parks
January 8, 2022 , 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Pre-registration is required by 12 p.m. CST on Friday, January 7th, and space is limited.
Registration is now closed. Check out our upcoming events here.
Participants must complete the mandatory online waiver. Please do not request registration for others when submitting your request.
Our January half-day field trip will be a sampling of Birmingham’s urban parks with a wide array of winter species in both water, open, and woodland settings.
Avondale Park (1401 5th Ave. S.), the centerpiece of one of Birmingham’s historic districts, hosts a rich collection of birds in and around a spring-fed lake. Wintering woodland species and waterfowl will be the focus of this stop.
W. C. Patton Park (1200 Sipsey St.), just off I-20/59 at Tallapoosa Street, features a large lake with walking trails to view many of the same species as Avondale Park.
East Lake Park (8101 4th Ave. N.) is one of Birmingham’s prime birding sites, with a variety of habitats that attract many species. It is one of the city’s oldest and most-visited public parks, as well as a stop on the Alabama Birding Trails Appalachian-Highlands section. While the park’s highlight is a large, easily viewed central island—home to one of the area’s largest black-crowned night-heron rookeries—birders can also expect to find resident and wintering songbirds along the banks of Village Creek, which runs along the southeastern edge of the park.
The details: Meetup is at 8 a.m. at Avondale Park under the sign in front of the pond (4101 5th Ave. S.). Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and a variety of outerwear, as Alabama weather conditions can be notoriously changeable this time of year.
Registration: To register, click on the button above. If you’re new to our online system and don’t yet have a username and password, simply click the “X” on the pop up and fill out the basic form. If you do have a login, please use it as this helps us tremendously on our end! You should receive an automated email upon registering.
Accessibility: Avondale and W.C. Patton parks are considered accessible with paved paths. East Lake Park is considered accessible with mostly hard packed dirt/gravel paths. All have a flat path with excellent birding, though there are other trails which can be explored that include uneven terrain with some incline.
Questions about accessibility? Email us for more information about how we can meet your needs.
The food: Feel free to bring a snack. We should be done before lunch.
The birds: Wintering species of waterfowl, sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, raptors, and other species found in watered and wooded urban habitats will be present.
Trip leader: Matt Hunter (205-460-9546) and Linda Neighbors (205-568-5554) will lead this trip. Please contact them on the day of the field trip only.
Questions? Email the Programs Assistant.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Through more than seventy-five years of conservation work in one of our nation’s most ecologically rich states, Alabama Audubon has seen firsthand how diversity strengthens natural communities. We believe that the same principle applies to human communities, which is why our organization is committed to providing equitable opportunities for all Alabamians to learn about and enjoy wild birds, their habitats, and the natural world. One of the best ways to support that belief is by valuing and actively seeking to strengthen diversity among our staff, our board, and our membership. To that end, Alabama Audubon welcomes the whole of our community to our work, and strives to make our programs, classes, and events open and accessible to all.
