Bird-watching has become the top outdoor activity crossing all age and economic boundaries. Nationwide, the number of birders is impressive: over 55 million-far outnumbering the nation's 30 million golfers.

In recognition of the popularity of bird-watching, the state of Alabama is in the process of developing a definitive map of bird trails throughout the state.

Dauphin Island, a major birding site, is the first landfall offering food and shelter for nearly exhausted neo-tropical migrant birds after their long flight across the Gulf of Mexico from Central and South America. It is also the birds' final feeding and resting place before their return flight in the fall.

In the 1950s, the 164 acres of the Dauphin Island site was set aside as a wildlife sanctuary at the urging of Dr. Wilson Gaillard, an avid birder and conservationist. Consisting of maritime forest, marshes, dunes, with a lake, a swamp and a beach, the Sanctuary is located at the western end of Dauphin Island just off the Alabama Gulf Coast.

In 1967, when the site was again in danger of residential development, Dr. Gaillard was instrumental in having the National Audubon Society lease the Sanctuary and in having it made a part of the national system of Audubon wildlife sanctuaries. Although responsibility for the Sanctuary was returned to local control in 1992, a non-profit corporation, the Friends of Dauphin Island Audubon Sanctuary, was created with the help and financial support of the Alabama Audubon Council

Efforts are underway to preserve similar areas of vital coastal habitat along the entire perimeter of the Gulf of Mexico, under the Gulf Coast Conservation Initiative, a partnership joining the Houston Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancies of Texas and Louisiana, the US Fish and Wildlife Department, the Amoco Production Co., Phillips Petroleum Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Texas Nature Conservancy administers the program.

The Friends of Dauphin Island Audubon Society are joining in this effort to assure protected habitat for neo-tropical migrants. They are joined by the sanctuaries at High Island, Texas and Little Pecan Island in Louisiana. This initiative is part of the Partners in Flight-Aves de las Americas: an international cooperative effort to reverse the decline in the number of neo-tropical migrants. For more information about the Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary, contact Dr. Porter (334) 861- 2120.

Gulf Shores is also a prime birding spot. Bird-banding is a semi-annual event, and this April 3-18 marks the days when the Hummer Bird Study Group will be banding and marking migrants arriving at Fort Morgan after their exhausting journey from the Yucatan Peninsula. Volunteers set up special nets to capture the birds, retrieve them, and take them to the banding stations where weight, length, health and species are recorded. The birds are banded and then released. This process is repeated in the fall, except the migrants then begin their journey south. According to Dr. Porter, director of the Dauphin Island Audubon Program, the information gathered by the Hummer/Birding Group has proven invaluable not only in tracking the birds, but in discovering birdlife details. In some instances, the same pair of birds has returned to the same nests for five consecutive years.

For information about becoming a Hummer Bird Study Group volunteer, contact Bebe Gauntt, Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau (334) 974-1510 or via e-mail: bgauntt@gulfshores.com 

For the latest Alabama Gulf Coast birding information, log on to the Alabama Ornithological Society (AOS) website: http://www.bham.net/aos.   Complete trail maps identifying and describing the over 50 sites in Baldwin and Mobile counties that have been identified as excellent spots for birding, will be available soon from the Gulf Coast CVB. (See phone number above.)

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur attracts thousand of wintering waterfowl every year. In addition to Canada geese, snow geese (huge!) and 22 species of ducks, the Refuge hosts 285 different species of songbirds. The Refuge, stretching over 34,500 acres, has two walking trails and one of the South's largest educational centers for waterfowl and wildlife study, the Givens Wildlife Interpretive Center. A great place to spend a long weekend with a camera, birding journal and binoculars. Safari gear is optional.

Weeks Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Fairhope is one of 22 national reserves protecting estuarine waters, marshes, shorelines and adjacent uplands for research and education. Three miles of hiking trails offer a wonderful opportunity to observe waterfowl and shore birds. The museum, live animals and interpretive boardwalk are also educational and helpful in understanding the area's ecology. Best of all, there is no admission charge. Call (334) 928-9792 for more info.

Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge, located on Alabama's southeastern border, is a prime feeding and wintering habitat for waterfowl, birds of prey, and songbirds -including bluebirds, according to local historian and bird-house builder, Robert Flewellen, who has published a bird book about the area. Herons, egrets, gallinules and wood ducks also number among the birds who winter over or spend year-round in the area. In March, Eufaula holds a Fins and Feathers Festival celebrating the wealth of waterfowl and the great fishing at the lake.

Ruffner Mountain and Eastlake Park in Birmingham provide an extensive listing of birds that have been sighted in the area. There's room in the booklet to check off the ones you encounter and birders are encouraged to report new sightings to a naturalist at the Park. Trails on the mountain are well-marked, and guided tours are the norm. The mountain is riddled with old iron ore mines, so you don't want to wander off the marked trails and end up plunging down an abandoned mineshaft or disappear in a deep hole!

If you have found an injured bird or other wild creature, the Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, located at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham (near Birmingham) has staff and volunteers who care for over 2,500 injured or orphaned native wild creatures each year. Hawks, owls, songbirds and water fowl are among those restored to health and re-released into the wild. Those creatures who must remain in captivity due to the incapacitating nature of their injuries, are housed in large, naturally-furnished cages at the park.

Alabama has 26 parks and four National Forests in addition to botanical gardens in the cities of Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Dothan and each caters to bird and animal watchers.