After a year of hard work, the Arboretum joined Pike County Lake in recognition for being a bird hotspot by the Alabama Birding Trails.
Alabama has eight Birding Trails, all of which highlight the best public areas for bird watching. The Arboretum makes the 22nd site chosen in the Wiregrass region, which encompasses 10 counties.
“We got a grant from the Alabama Audubon Society to plant some plants that were specifically for birds,” said Dr. Alvin Diamond, the arboretum director. “When most people think of plants for birds, they think of things that have berries or fruit that birds eat.
“A lot of birds eat insects, so some of the plants we planted were things that would attract insects for the birds to eat.”
According to Dr. Diamond, the arboretum has an estimated 300 different species of birds, but not all of them can be viewed in the same season. Some birds are migrants and are only at the arboretum during a specific time of year. For example, hummingbirds are only here when it’s warm and Robins are here when it’s cold.
From big to small, there are many kinds of birds to see at the arboretum. Songbirds, like the mourning dove, can even be enjoyed without being seen.
“Some people have different preferences,” Diamond said. “Some people like the large, showy birds like the hawks, and we’ve got a pair of hawks nesting out here.
“Some people like the small, colorful birds like the blue jay, summer tanager, and the cardinal.”
“The arboretum is meant to replicate different ecosystems of Alabama, so it’s great for attracting a wide variety of different bird species,” said Victoria Fisk, a senior from Champaign, IL studying environmental science. “By the pond and near the meadow is where you’ll see a lot of different birds.”
One of the best times to see the birds is early in the morning. This is also when they are most likely to be singing. The arboretum currently has five trails: the lower dam, meadow, crabapple, magnolia, and the wildflower.
For those interested in learning about identifying birds, there are a lot of apps available to help. The Merlin Bird Id app identifies the song of birds after a recording. Troy University also offers an ornithology class for those passionate about learning how to identify birds.
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