Local Wildlife Sanctuaries

||| Refuges ||| State Parks ||| Local Parks ||| Other Birding Spots ||| Now, where was that meeting place? ||| Imagemap of Birding Spots |||

North Alabama is blessed to have a diverse ecosystem; ranging from the mountains of Jackson county in the northeast, through the farms and orchards of the Limestone county plains, and on to the broad Tennessee River backwaters spreading from Scottsboro to the Shoals. Pileated Woodpeckers, Meadowlarks, and Bitterns all call North Alabama home.
If you're interested in getting out to see some of the wildlife, then take a look at our local birding spots listed below. You'll find maps, directions, and some representative photos of most of the parks. For a graphical summary, check out our North Alabama Birding Spot Imagemap too! As always, do let us know of other spots you think should be here!

Happy Birding!!

Refuges

• Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
  This is our own TVAS-adopted site. The refuge encompasses over 34,500 acres along the banks of Wheeler Lake on the Tennessee River. At 67,100 acres, Wheeler is the second largest lake in the state, and is situated along the Mississippi flyway, bringing an abundance of ducks and geese. Trails range in length up to two miles. The refuge stretches from west of Athens and Decatur all the way into Redstone Arsenal; the eastern end isn't far from Ditto Landing in south Huntsville. Here are some good places to visit while at the refuge:
  
  The Givens Interpretive Center ( 3 miles west of I-65 on Hwy 67 ) serves as the refuge welcome center, as well as the meeting place for TVAS, and has a glass-enclosed wildlife observatory. The Center is open free to the public from 10am to 5pm November - February; Wednesday thru Sunday 10am to 5pm March - October.

• There are so many great locations in the refuge; here are some of them:
  Blackwell swamp. One of my favorites, as it is one of the quickest refuge spots coming from Huntsville.
  
  Dancy Quarters. On the south bank of the Tennessee River; very near I-65.
  
  Harris Station Road area. Just east of Calhoun Community College and the Alabama Dept. of Conservation District Office. This includes Swan Creek and "The Stickups" near the Saginaw Steering Gear Plant..
  
  Limestone Bay This includes Arrowhead Landing south of Mooresville.
  
  Beaverdam Creek Boardwalk. This is right off I-565 between Madison and I-65... very convienent! It contains a very old stand of Blackgum trees.

  Other refuges nearby:

• Bankhead National Forest
  

• Blowing Wind Cave Wildlife Refuge
  This is a cave set aside for the protection of the Little Gray Bat. Each fall they put on spectacular evening exits from the cave that last into the night. This is one of TVAS's most popular outings.

Nearby State Parks:

• Buck's Pocket State Park
  
• Cathedral Caverns State Park
  
• Guntersville State Park
  
• Joe Wheeler State Park
  
• Monte Sano State Park
  
  

Local Parks:

• The J.D. and Annie Hays Nature Preserve just east of Huntsville is a 538 acre tract of swamp untouched for 100 years.
• Madison County Nature Trail on South Shawdee Drive atop Green Mountain in Hunstville, AL. The Nature Trail is located on a very tranquil 72-acre site and has a 16-acre lake, plus approximately 2 miles of trails. It is open from sunrise to just before sunset, every day of the year (although it's usually closed around the Christmas holidays for a week or two). No pets or bicycles allowed.
  
• Aldridge Creek Greenway Trail in southeast Huntsville. The first of many Greenway Trails in the area.

• McFarland Park in Florence. Very convenient to the city and the Tennessee River.

Other places:

Here are some places that aren't really sanctuaries set apart for wildlife, but are good local birding spots just the same.

• Marion County Lake. This is an easy and relaxing place to bird, with paved roads down either side of the lake, low traffic, and plenty of turnouts and wide shoulders. Includes a species list.
• Guin Treatment Ponds. Also in Marion County in west-central Alabama, this treatment pond is just west of Guin. Like most water treatment facilities, the potential for surprises makes this spot worth keeping an eye on. Not many birds there in summer, though. Includes a species list
• UAH Duck Pond. Located on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, it's a good urban location to spot a few geese, ducks, and winter gulls.
• Rock Springs. This park is on the right side of the Natchez Trace parkway near Cherokee AL, just north of the Tennessee River. This park is simply full of jewelweed, which serves to attract Hummingbirds. Some years are more spectacular than others; the last TVAS trip there in September 1996 was rather average, really. Maybe this year will see more hummers again!
• Guntersville Dam. To the right off Highway 431, south of New Hope.
• Marthaler Lane Ponds, In eastern Colbert County, is an ideal place for waders and such.
• Wilson Dam
• Wheeler Dam
• Waterloo, the most north-westerly town in Alabama, is near Second Creek and is home to some excellent views of the Tennessee River.
• Bear Creek, in western Colbert County. Also great for river birds.
• Town Creek Marsh and Point Has a stable marsh area and excellent views of the Tennessee River.
• County Road 2 in west Lauderdale County. Combines pastures and marshes.

Meeting places

Here are some of the more common meeting places used by TVAS, as well as most of the other nature-oriented organizations in the area. If you've not been on outings before, this will show you just where to meet if you want to car-pool or "convoy".

• If you're heading southeast from Huntsville, you may be meeting folks at the Colonial Bank parking lot at the corner of Governors' Drive and Whitesburg Drive.
• Going west from Decatur, you may be meeting at the Holiday Inn parking lot.
• Many of the outings to locations on the eastern side of Wheeler NWR are described as "leaving from the country store in Mooresville". Of course, Mooresville, AL isn't very big, and the country store has closed since I-565 went through nearby, but here is a map and directions to Mooresville nevertheless.
• Directions and leaving times to Bankhead are often given from the Wild Alabama Trading Post in Wren, AL. Here is a brief map and directions to Wren.
• Going out to Blowing Wind Cave Wildlife Refuge, you can also meet at The Four Macs Restaurant beforehand.
• Between Huntsville and Decatur on I-565 is The Greenbrier BBQ.