A 'Hot Spot' for

Neo-tropical Migrant Birds

Giant moss-draped live oaks, such as the giant in the photo at left, are abundant throughout the Park. This tree is estimated to be approximately 800 years old, and would have been a mature oak when the Spaniards first visited the shores of Dauphin Island in 1519. The Shell Mounds and Dauphin Island in general are renowned "hot-spots" for observing neotropical migrant birds, and attract birders from around the U.S. each spring and fall. Indian Shell Mound Park, located on the northern shore of Dauphin Island, is maintained and administered by Alabama Marine Resources Division. The eleven acres of the park are a botanical treasure-trove found on no other Gulf barrier island. Several plant species occurring here are representatives of families found as far inland as the Appalachian Mountains and from as far south as Yucatan state, Mexico. Many were probably transported here by Indian groups hundreds of years ago for medicinal and culinary purposes. American Redstart (male) The Spring Neo-tropical Migration (March through May), is my favorite time at the Shell Mound Park. When conditions are right, the migrants are so exhausted from the long flight across the Gulf from the Yucatan in Mexico, that they literally ‘fall-out’ at the first point of land they reach. Whenever this fantastic event occurs, the Shell Mound Park is the Place to be! The ancient live oaks provide the insects and cover that the neotropical migrants depend on at their first landfall. It is common to see 20 species of warblers here on a good day.

Prothonotary Warbler	Rose-breasted Grosbeak	Great Crested Flycatcher

Indigo Bunting	Summer Tanager	Eastern Towhee

Orchard Oriole	Black and White Warbler	Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Baltimore Oriole	Magnolia Warbler	Scarlet Tanager

The pictures above are but a small sample of the species you can encounter as you stroll along the pathways of the park.
Including many beautiful Butterfly species.

Monarch	Red Admiral	Spicebush Swallowtail

For those who are not birders, the shaded trails of the park make an excellent place to seek shelter from the hot sun of the beaches, to walk, meditate, or simply relax on one of several benches and enjoy nature, surrounded by a spiritual aura that has drawn people to the spot since long before the arrival of Europeans.

Google Map to Shell Mound Park

                                                                                                       detail map by Dave Switzer

All photographs on this page ©2006 Dave Switzer To see more of Dave's Photographs visit his web site at: http://www.sailnokoni.com