Gulf Shore Getaway

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge reopens to the public beginning Monday, just in time for peak birding season. The park has been closed since September 2004 except for limited beach access.

FORT MORGAN, Ala. - Wild birds returning from Mexico this month take rest stops at Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan Peninsula, where birdwatchers with cameras and binoculars await their arrival.

For the first time since Hurricane Ivan struck the Alabama coast in September 2004, birders and other visitors will be allowed into the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge beginning Monday. Walking trails have been repaired in this favorite forested area for migratory birds, nesting sea turtles and the federally protected Alabama beach mouse.

The refuge had about 100,000 visitors annually before the hurricane, according to federal wildlife officials. There is no entry fee.

The refuge's reopening coincides with the work of a study group banding hummingbirds at Fort Morgan until April 15, said John Porter, volunteer director of the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary.

Dauphin Island last year was named "birdiest coastal" small city based on its April count of 185 species, said Philip Pryde, a professor emeritus at San Diego State University who teaches birding identification courses. Pryde coordinates the national bird counts reported by teams of birdwatchers in 40 cities and counties.

Porter said a road sign proclaiming that "birdiest" designation recently went up on the island. He said some of the many species of birds that migrate could be spotted on the Alabama coastline this month.

The Bon Secour refuge extends from Fort Morgan over to Little Dauphin Island. More than 370 species of birds have been identified on the refuge during migratory seasons, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The largest are usually ospreys and several species of herons. At the other extreme, seven species of hummingbirds have been identified. Read more