NEWS RELEASES
Alabama Preserve Joins State Birding Trails
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' website.
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announced the addition of the Forever Wild Wehle Tract in Bullock County to the Wiregrass Birding Trail, one of the state’s eight loops leading to dozens of birding sites. The 1,505-acre Wehle Tract provides the public with opportunities to camp, fish, hike, horseback ride, canoe on Blue Heron Lake and observe birds and other wildlife viewing. Two hiking trail loops give easy access to several bird habitats including open pine-grassland savanna, a forested pond, and expansive bottomland hardwood forest.
More than 170 bird species have been documented on the Wehle Tract, including a birder's favorite, the Bachman’s sparrow, often found in the tract’s pine uplands, as well as the Northern Bobwhite and Brown-headed Nuthatch. Wehle is also a Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird hotspot, which provides the eBird mobile app and website listing all bird sightings on the property. Visitors can plan their visits using eBird’s Wehle checklist.
“Wehle’s public accessibility and designation as a birding hotspot for many rare regional species make it an important destination for birders throughout the Wiregrass,” Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner and Chairman of the Forever Wild Land Trust Board of Trustees, said in a press release. A public dedication followed by a bird hike on the property is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 14, and is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the Alabama Forever Wild website and the website of Alabama’s Birding Trails.
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