EVENT CAPACITY: 30
Cost: Park entrance Fees: Age 4-11 are $2 each, Age 12-61 are $5 each, and Ages 62 and up are $2 each.
Event/ Program Description: Birding has been aptly described as the gateway drug to butterflies! Oak Mountain State Park’s Green Trail is one of the premiere spring butterfly sites in Alabama! If the weather cooperates, we expect to see common species like Eastern Tiger, Zebra, Pipevine, and Spicebush Swallowtails as well as specialties like Falcate Orangetips and Yucca Giant-Skippers. Mourning Cloaks, Goatweed Leafwings, and Spring Azures are also possibilities. We will experience behaviors like “hilltopping”—a mate location behavior where male butterflies gather on or near the highest places in their habitats and wait for receptive females to fly uphill to meet them.
We will also look at some of the trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that serve as the caterpillar host plants that support these butterfly species. Butterfliers of any skill level are welcomed. Binoculars will enhance your experience. Birding on this field trip will be a bonus as we look for the butterflies. Paulette Haywood and Sara Bright are leading this field trip. Paulette and Sara co-authored Butterflies of Alabama: Glimpses into Their Lives and currently administer the Alabama Butterfly Atlas (www.alabama.butterflyatlas.usf.edu). They can be reached by email at albutterflyatlas@gmail.com. If you have questions, feel free to contact them.
LOCATION DETAILS: The Peavine Falls parking area is large and parking is not usually an issue. A portable toilet is available in the parking lot. Wear clothing and closed-toed footwear appropriate for the weather and site.
TRAVEL INFORMATION: Meet at Oak Mountain State Park in the parking lot for Peavine Falls. From the park’s front gate entrance on John Findlay Drive, drive 3.2 miles, then turn right onto Terrace Drive. Continue for 2.2 miles. Turn left onto Peavine Falls Road. Follow it approximately three miles until you reach the Peavine Falls parking lot on the ridgetop. We will start at 9:00 a.m. to allow enough warmth for the movement of butterflies.
Accessibility: The Green Trail is easy to follow, but exposed roots and rocks make sections very uneven. Some portions of the trail are somewhat steep. The trail is not wheelchair accessible.
Trip Leader: Matt Hunter // mtdhunter58@gmail.com // (205) 460-9546
Please contact your trip leader on the day of the event if you need assistance or have questions.
All Image Rights & Ownership: Matt Hunter