This birding trip will cover the always delightful combo of Village Point & Bayfront Park in Daphne. We will meet in the Village Pointe parking lot which can often have good birds flitting around such as Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Warblers, and Brown-headed Nuthatch. From there we will take the main gravel trail through the heart of Village Point Park in search of winter residents to the area including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Orange-crowned Warblers, and White-throated Sparrows. We will take the boardwalk out to the pier and beach area and look for White Pelicans, Forster’s Tern, and grebes. This is also a great location to compare gull species including possible Bonaparte’s, Black-backed, Herring, and Ring-billed Gulls. Depending on the tide we will also look for potential shorebirds including Western and Least Sandpiper, yellowlegs, Dunlin, and plover species. Once the group is done at the beach, we will take the trails back to the Village Point parking lot.
Binoculars will be available to borrow. A scope may be useful for the beach and mudflats during the second half of the trip but you will have to tote it for a while through the wooded portion of the trail before it becomes useful. The trip leader will have a scope on hand if you don’t want to carry yours!
You can view the Village Point/Bayfront Park eBird hotspot here to see what’s been recently spotted at this location!
This event is free but registration is required. This program is limited to 15 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Trip Leader: Your trip leader will be Cortney Weatherby (cortney@alaudubon.org / 402-297-1775). Please reach out to the trip leaders if you have any questions, concerns, or require special accessibility accommodations so that we assist you. Please call or text your leader on the day of the event only.
LOCATION DETAILS: There is no parking fee at this location and there should be ample parking on a weekday morning. There are restrooms available by the parking lot. Please remember to wear seasonally appropriate attire and bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and bug spray as necessary.
TRAVEL INFORMATION : We will be meeting in the Village Point parking lot at 8am.
Address: 27710 Main St, Daphne, AL 36526
Accessibility : Depending on what the group is up for, we will travel between 1.5-1.75 miles during this trip to the beach area and back. The walk through Village Point Park is a wide, mostly flat, gravel path that may contain a few large rocks or washouts that may not be suitable for all people. We will use a few short portions of well maintained boardwalk and paved trail on our way out to the pier. From this point, anyone who wants to join can walk a portion of the beach (approx. 150-200 yards) to reach the point where large mixed group loafing flocks and better looks at the mudflat can be had. If any individual does not want to travel on the sand, great birding can be had from the pier and boardwalk area until the group returns (estimated less than 30 minutes).
Please reach out to Cortney Weatherby (cortney@alaudubon.org) if you have specific questions or require any special accommodations, have questions, or cannot attend, so that we can better assist you on the day of the event.
Cancellation: This event will only be canceled by Alabama Audubon in the event of unforeseen circumstances or threatening weather/hazardous conditions. Refunds (if applicable) will only be issued at the discretion of Alabama Audubon. *If you need to cancel at the last minute prior to the trip, please email or text your trip leaders to let them know!*
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