An upcoming show may be good for bird watchers, but not for neighborhood bugs. The annual black belt birding festival starts tomorrow, and that includes mowing day at the Joe Family Farm. Tractors stir up the hay, and that sends insects into the air. The goal is to attract birds like scissor-tailed flycatchers or Mississippi kites to swoop down for a snack. Here’s more on the annual event and the people who show up with binoculars in hand.
“Alabama is one of the, I think it's the third most diverse ecological state in the country,” said Tim Higgins. He's the coordinator for the Black Belt Birding Festival.
“There are things you'll see here that you can't see. You know, birds, species that are together at the same time that you can't see anywhere else in the country,” he said.
Birdwatchers say the black belt is prime territory for seeing a wide variety of birds. The list ranges from a species of woodpecker that is only found in the southeastern U.S. or the more familiar red cockaded woodpecker that's on top of waterbirds, herons, egrets, and ospreys. Higgins says summer is the peak of migration season for birds traveling south from Canada.
“Yeah, absolutely. I'd been aware of the festival for a while, just sort of in the in the birding world,” said Nate Swick. He’s a keynote speaker for this year's festival.
“I was really interested in the concept and interested in in what they're doing down there in in Greensboro, and when they asked me to to speak at this year's festival, it was an is an easy yes!”
Swick has been birding since he was a youngster. Now, as a professional expert on the subject, he's the education and digital content coordinator for the American Birding Association. Swick is also a published author and hosts the American Birding podcast. He says the chance to see rare birds in Alabama's black belt is unique.
“One of the things that I love about birding is you wouldn't necessarily think of you know central Alabama, the black belt birding festival, as being the sort of hotbed of of birding, of bird watching,” he said. “Because a lot of the birds that you have there are the sort that you might find in a lot of different places across the the southern United States and the southeast United States.
And Swick isn't the only bird watcher who considers both the black belt's place in history as well as its environmental importance.
“The cultural history as well as its environmental history-it's all tied up together,” said Dr. Scott Duncan. He's the executive director of Alabama Audubon.
“At the same time, the cultural history there is absolutely fascinating. It is legitimately argued that it is the birthplace of the civil rights movement, and the bird watching there and the other forms of nature appreciation there are off charts interesting,” he insisted.
“Birds that have hatched and are already out of their nests this year. Are storing up on food to make their trip south,” said Tim Higgins, coordinator of the Black Belt Birding Festival,
and so it's just pretty spectacular birding. And like I said, this is for beginners. This is for seasoned people.”
The Black Belt Birding Festival starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday.
