Something for Everyone
Black Belt Birding Festival 2026
The 6th annual Black Belt Birding Festival will take place July 31-August 2 2026. Highlighting the birds, history, and heritage of Alabama’s Black Belt region, the festival brings together the joy of birding with the benefits of ecotourism to a region of profoundly important ecology and civil rights history.
Field Trip: Birding by River / Tombigbee River, Gainesville (Free!)
The Tombigbee River in west Alabama will be part two of our Birding by the River summer trip series. The beauty of birding west Alabama in late summer – a time of post-breeding dispersal and early migrants – is that one never knows what to expect, and several times we have seen unexpected species.
Southern Rivers: Restoring America's Freshwater Biodiversity at Blount County Memorial Museum (Free!)
Join us for a free talk at the Blount County Memorial Museum!
Online Courses: Confusing Fall Warblers ($)
Join Program Coordinator Andrew Lydeard to help dispel the "confusing" notion surrounding fall warbler identification through a comprehensive course designed to conquer the goal of identifying warblers during their fall migration.
Online Courses: Introduction to eBird and Merlin ($)
Join Alabama Audubon and Program Coordinator Andrew Lydeard for a dive into a course is designed to introduce you the world of digital birding!
Field Trip - Grassland and Wading Birds / Lauderdale County, AL ($)
Tag along with Program Coordinator, Andrew Lydeard, and local expert Alabama birdguide, Daniel Redwine, as we explore Key Cave National Wildlife refuge, Wilson Dam, and various locations in Lauderdale County as the spectacle of fall migration begins!
Online Courses: Introduction to Alabama's Shorebirds ($)
Join Program Coordinator Andrew Lydeard for an online course that covers the expected sandpipers and plovers found throughout Alabama and how to identify them, just in time for peak shorebird migration!
2026 ALABAMA BIRD SEARCH -YOUTH CHALLENGE
Join us during this state-wide, 24-hour competitive birding event, youth teams ranging from pre-kindergarten through high school will compete against other teams in their age division for most species identified, among other categories, for prizes and recognition. Let’s share our love of birds with the next generation!
Beginner Birding with Alabama Audubon / Oak Mountain State Park (Free)
Join Program Coordinator, Andrew Lydeard, to one of the Birmingham area's best places to look for migratory songbirds, Oak Mountain State Park!
Perry Lakes Park, Half-Day Adventure (Free!)
Join us this September for a half-day adventure into Perry County to tally as many species as we can during walks through Perry Lakes Park.
Birding at Ruffner Mountain: Eastern Trailhead (Free!)
The eastern trailhead and wetlands at Ruffner Mountain is one of Birmingham's greatest birding spots, and fall migration will be in full swing!
Field Trip: Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve (Free!)
The birdwatching at Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve is mythical. This Alabama Birding Trail 740-acre preserve offers a Bird Blind and Habitat and a 10x10 elevated birding platform along the Moonshine Trail that overlooks a spring-fed water feature and diverse forest, attracting numerous species. We hope to see some late migrants as well as some of our winter species.
Speaker Series // Tamerra Jones (Free!)
Join Alabama Audubon and University of Alabama - Birmingham Libraries for a special guest speaker, Tamerra Jones, who is a hobby birder, photographer, and birding advocate based in Orlando, Florida.
Birds & Blueberries Pop-Up: Smith’s Farm
Exercise your birding passion and reward yourself with your own freshly picked blueberries. The birds are free, you pay for the blueberries you pick.
Field Trip: State Cattle Ranch/Greensboro Birding (Free)
While summer temperatures in the Black Belt can be hot, the birding can be quite good - making it well worth the effort to endure the heat.
Field Trip: Birding by River / Autaugaville, Lowndesboro
The Alabama River west of Montgomery has long been a birding destination for a number of the River Region’s specialties, and we’ll focus our efforts on both the north and south sides of the river looking for them!
Feathered Flea Market and Audubon Open House
We're doing summer cleaning and have discovered some amazing treasures we'd love to share.
Join us at our office in Highland Park at 2835 Highland Ave, for our first-ever Feathered Flea Market and Audubon Open House. Browse a collection of vintage birding books from around the world, perfect for coffee tables, collaging, decorating, or adding to your personal library.
(CANCELLED) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Event at the Black Belt
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is one of the most iconic birds of North American prairies, including the Alabama Black Belt and is our Bird of the Year for 2026. The species is in steep decline across nearly its entire range.
Lets Go Birding Together at Turkey Creek
Join Alabama Audubon and Jefferson County Greenways for special early access to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve for Let's Go Birding Together!
Birding at Bull's Gap / Talladega NF (Free!)
Our destination this day is Bull's Gap, in the southern reaches of the Talladega National Forest east of Sylacauga.
The Gopher Tortoise: Meet the Hidden Architect of Southwest Alabama’s Longleaf Pine Forests (Free!)
Join Alabama Audubon and the University of Alabama - Birmingham Libraries co-host a special guest speaker as part of Alabama Audubon's Speaker Series! This June's speaker, Robin Lloyd, is a recent recipient of the Alabama Audubon Walter F. Coxe Award and will be discussing his research on Gopher Tortoises in Alabama.
Call for Artists, Bird of the Year 2027
Submit your fine art for a chance to be commissioned for our Bird of the Year 2027!
Call for Artists: Bird of the Year Commission 2027
Cahaba River Park (Free!)
The Cahaba River Park is a very large Shelby county park along the Cahaba river and has many birds to see.
2026 Alabama Audubon Annual Meeting (Free)
Please join us for our 2026 Annual Meeting on the evening of Thursday, May 14, in the large auditorium at the Homewood Public Library.
TVA Muscle Shoals Trail Complex (Free!)
Join us as we explore the TVA Muscle Shoals Trail Complex in Northwest AL!
Birding for Beginners in Montgomery Ages 12-14 (Free!)
Curious about the birds around you? Wanna know what they are? This hands-on workshop is a fun way to find out.
Spring Bird Count 62nd Year!
Join us for our Spring Bird Count, as we work to tally as many birds as we can in Jefferson, Shelby and St. Clair counties.
Alabama Coastal BirdFest Social Night at Braided River Brewing Company (Free!)
Join us for an Alabama Coastal BirdFest Social Night at Braided River Brewing Company from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM!
Alabama Coastal Birdfest Social Night at Fairhope Brewing Company (Free!)
Join us for a Coastal Social Night at Fairhope Brewing Company from 5–7 PM!
Coastal BirdFest 2026 (Registration Closed)
Alabama Audubon is the proud host of the Alabama Coastal BirdFest! We strive to uphold the festival’s 20+ year legacy and invite birders from all over to join us!
COASTAL BIRD BANDING AT FORT MORGAN (FREE)
Our banding station is one of the few in the US open to the public. Join us to see migrant birds up close after their journey across the Gulf of Mexico. We’ll also offer bird and nature walks, tabling by allied organizations, and more. Bring your cameras and enjoy unparalleled access to the researchers and their work, with up-close-and-personal views of some amazing birds!
Hidden in Plain Sight: An Introduction to Birding (Free!)
You don't have to travel far or know anything about birds to begin.
Field Trip: Shoals Creek Park (Free!)
Shoal Creek Park covers 167 acres of mostly open lands with wooded margins, with Shoal Creek running through the property.
In Partnership: BioBlitz Bird Banding & Bird-Watching Walk
In partnership with the Jefferson County Greenways Commission, join us for a BioBlitz bird banding demonstration and guided bird-watching walk at Red Mountain Park.
Spring Migration at Chapman Mountain (Free!)
It's time for spring migration in North Alabama! Tag along with Alabama Audubon this spring at one of North Alabama's best songbird migration hotspots at Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve near Huntsville.
Birding at Vulcan Trail (Free!)
Under the watchful eye of Alabama’s most famous statue, we’ll head down the Vulcan trail, a stretch of wooded area running through the hillside, enjoying great views of the city and Vulcan himself, all while searching for migrants in this hidden gem of a birding area.
Great Spring Bird Count // Shoal Creek Park (Montevallo, AL) ($)
Celebrate the beauty of spring with Alabama Audubon at Shoal Creek Park during the 2026 Great Spring Bird Count!
Nature at Noon / Ruffner Mountain (Free!)
Join us for our monthly Nature at Noon event with our friends at Ruffner Mountain!
Oak Mountain State Park: Lake Trail (Free!)
Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama's largest park, with over 10,000 acres of woods and lakes to explore.
Black Creek Park Walking Trip (Free!)
Black Creek Park is a hidden gem for year-round birding in the Birmingham area. Beautiful natural areas are set among pavilions and well-maintained ball fields.
Biking and Birding Along 5 Mile Creek Greenway
Biking and birding along 5 Mile Creek Greenway: (Bike required.) The 5 mile creek greenway is about 8.5 miles long, connecting Fultondale to the outskirts of Brookside in Jefferson county.
Cahaba River Coalition & Perry Lakes Park Work Day Clean Up
Join Alabama Audubon and Cahaba River Coalition on Saturday, March 7, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Perry Lakes Park. ( AL-175, Marion, AL 36756).
Field Trip: Coleman Lake, Talladega - SOLD OUT (Free!)
Today's field trip will take us further afield - to the Coleman Lake/Pinhoti Trailhead area of the Talladega National Forest - where we will spend the first part of our morning gazing skyward, in hopes of finding Golden Eagle(s) soaring overhead.