Gulf Shore Getaway

Spring Bird Banding Session 2006

The spring bird banding session is in progress right now at Fort Morgan. Just like in the fall event, you're invited to come out to Fort Morgan to help with the banding fun. You're sure to see hummingbirds, doves, cuckoos, sparrows, wrens and dozens of other neo-tropical migratory birds in the final legs of their return north from their winter homes in Central America.

Each spring the event is hosted by the Hummer Bird Study Group. They capture, weigh, measure, band and release the birds, sending them on their way unharmed. This bi-annual event allows birders, scientists and environmentalists to study and understand population levels, health and weather effects on migration.

If you aren

Dauphin Island tops for Mobile area spring breakers

The Mobile Register leads with Dauphin Island as its top recommendation for Mobile area vacationers looking to get away for a quick and accessible spring break vacation.

Along with touring Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island there's all that warm sunshine and fresh ocean breezes on the beach, the Dauphin Island Fishing Pier, Bellingrath Gardens, the shell mounds... the list goes on and on.

It's spring break time

So you don't want to load the kids into the car, drive for eight hours to your destination and plop down hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars, for your spring break vacation?

Then just stay home. You don't have to leave the area to have fun and still feel like you've spent quality time with your kids and family during spring break.

There are plenty of fun and interesting things to do and see in this area to fill a week.

Drive to Dauphin Island and tour Fort Gaines at the east end of the island. Then drive your car onto the Mobile Bay Ferry for a trip to Fort Morgan.

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Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge reopens to birders on Monday

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.

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Bellingrath Gardens Visit

We had such a mild winter in Alabama this year at Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan. This phenomenon proved quite confusing for our flowering shrubs. Last week I visited Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, Alabama with our winter guests during one of our tour activities. The azaleas were absolutely breathtaking as were the daffodils and other beautiful flowers.