Field Trip: Lakeland Farms and Greensboro Area

Birmingham Audubon is once again offering two summer field trips to search for Kites, Storks and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and lots of them. If you have never witnessed the spectacle of Mississippi and Swallow-tailed kites feeding on the wing, you are missing one of the most spectacular aerial shows on earth. Kites are regular late summer visitors to the Tombigbee and Alabama River systems in the upper coastal plain. Their acrobatic maneuvers while catching insects in flight is truly spectacular. And speaking of eating, another bonus on these outings is the food, Chef Lee’s in Autaugaville and the Pie Lab in Greensboro. The trip dates are Saturday, July 30, 2016 (Autaugaville and Prattville) and Saturday, August 6, 2016 (Lakeland Farms and Greensboro area).

Hopefully, we will also see Wood Storks on these outings; their numbers fluctuate from year to year but hopefully we’ll have at least some to view – particularly on the Lakeland Farms-Greensboro trip. Wood storks have to be one of the homeliest creatures the good lord ever made, but in the air their striking black and white forms are beautiful sights indeed. You won’t want to miss these field trips so mark your calendars now and be brave against the summer heat!

Here are the details for both trips:

Saturday, July 30th trip: Click here for event/trip details.

Saturday, August 6th trip: The Galleria McDonalds, located at 1731 Montgomery Highway (US 31) across from the Galleria, will serve as our departure point for this trip, too. Plan to leave at 7:00 a.m. again. We will caravan west on I-59/20 to exit #97 and head south on AL Hwy 5 to Centerville/Brent where we’ll make a rest stop before continuing to Red Bamberg Road and the many catfish ponds south of Greensboro. We will have lunch either at the Faunsdale Bar and Grill in Faunsdale, or the Pie Lab in Greensboro, depending on which arrangements can be made in advance for a group our size. A stop at Marion Fish Hatchery and/or Perry Lakes Park to watch herons and egrets returning to their roost at day’s end is a likely bet, too.

Remember, these trips will be daylong affairs so plan accordingly and bring plenty of drinks and snacks in addition to a full tank of gas, insect repellent, rain gear, and appropriate summer attire and sunblock.

Trip Leader for both of these trips: Greg Harber, 205-251-2133 (H) or 20-807-8055 (C)

N.B. Your fearless trip leader for these summer trips has been known to arrange additional trips on short notice, so remember to monitor the BAS website, the BAS-Birding Yahoo Group or the Birmingham Audubon Facebook page for up-to-date summer trip plans