Birding downtown Mobile, Alabama

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The Gulf States tour - making the most of crewchange mayhem.
April 2008

A typical crewchange tour - constant changes to the vessel schedule meant although there seemed to be plenty of time to look around there was too much uncertainty to use this time usefully. Birding was therefore limited to walks around the block in downtown Mobile, Alabama, looking out of a car window between Mobile and New Orleans, and another drive from New Orleans to the heliport at Galliano.

Frustratingly I missed out the Alabama birding route and probably some other good opportunities..

Brown Pelican

In Mobile, the most productive place was on the river down by the convention centre. Typically for American cities it was totally geared to cars and it was difficult to get anywhere on foot. However, walking around town did produce some good birds and kept me out of the many (good) bars at least some of the time.....

A couple of days on the vessel, transitting from a worksite in the Gulf of Mexico over to Miami, were almost totally birdless. A couple of migrating Cattle Egret flew past the boat in the Gulf and Royal Tern followed us as we neared Miami. Of course, the crew told me about a massive fallout of birds onboard not long before my arrival.....

This time a DSLR and a 400mm telephoto lens was used to photograph the birds - a useful way of identifying unfamiliar birds.


Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus Mobile, April 2008	Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata Mobile, April 2008

I used the following book to identify the birds I saw during this trip - highly recommended and simple enough to use.


Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus Mobile, April 2008	Osprey, Pandion haliaetus Mobile, April 2008sprey


Caspian Tern, Sterna caspia Mobile, April 2008 Compare to Royal Tern near the bottom of this page	Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis Mobile, April 2008


Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos Mobile, April 2008	Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla Mobile, April 2008

House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
Mobile, April 2008

Mourning Dove - one of the commonest birds around town
Mobile, April 2008


American Coot, Fulica americana Mobile, April 2008	Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis Mobile, April 2008

List of species noted 08-12 April 2008
Many other species were seen but not identified these included raptors, wildfowl, ibis, herons, hirundines etc, etc.

If you go birding in Mobile at the right time of year you may be able to attend the yearly Chili Cookoff. There are many types of chili presented in the competition, from Chuck's chili recipes to vegetarian and spicy chili recipes.

English name	Scientific name	Comments
Brown Pelican	Pelecanus occidentalis	Common on the water at Mobile
Double-crested Cormorant	Phalacrocorax auritus	Common on the water at Mobile
Snowy Egret	Egretta thula	A couple seen at Mobile
Triclored Heron	Egretta tricolor	One seen during drive from Mobile to New Orleans
Little Blue Heron	Egretta caerulea	Two beside a river on the outskirts of Mobile
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	Common during drive from Mobile to New Orleans, two seen migrating over the sea well out in the Gulf of Mexico
Black-crowned Night Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	One behind hotel in New Orleans, several in the middle of Miami
Yellow-crowned Night-heron	Nyctanassa violacea	Two beside a river on the outskirts of Mobile
Canada Goose	Branta canadensis	Mobile
Wood Duck	Aix sponsa	A pair seen on a river on the outskirts of Mobile
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus	Very common roadside bird near New Orleans
Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus	Common during drive from Mobile to New Orleans
Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis	Common during drive from Mobile to New Orleans
Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	1-3 during drive from Mobile to New Orleans
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	Downtown Mobile and drve to New Orleans
American Kestrel	Falco sparverius	Mobile
American Coot	Fulica americana	One beside the convention cenre in Mobile
Sora	Porzana carolina	One dead on the pavement in downtown Mobile
Killdeer	Charadrius vociferous	A few at the heliport
Spotted Sandpiper	Actitis macularia	One by the convention centre in Mobile
Laughing Gull	Larus atricilla	Very common everywhere
Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis	A few on the water at Mobile
(American) Herring Gull	Larus argentatus	A few on the water at Mobile
Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia	Common on the water at Mobile
Royal Tern	Sterna maxima	One 15 nautical miles off Florida Keys
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura	Very common everywhere
White-winged Dove	Zenaida asiatica	Several in Mobile
Eurasian Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto	Common in Mobile
Chimney Swift	Chaetura pelagica	Common in Mobile
Belted Kingfisher	Ceryle alcyon	One on a river on the outskirts of Mobile
Loggerhead Shrike	Lanius ludovicianus	One on outskirts of Mobile, 2+ at heliport
Blue Jay	Cyanocitta cristata	In town gardens, Mobile
American Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos	Common
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Stelgidopteryx serripennis	Four at convention centre, Mobile
(American) Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica	A few in Mobile
Northern Mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos	Very common everywhere
Brown Thrasher	Toxostoma rufum	One in Mobile
European Starling	Sturnus vulgaris	Very common everywhere
Myrtle Warbler	Dendroica coronata	Common in Mobile
Red-winged Blackbird	Agelaius phoeniceus	A few in Mobile
Boat-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus major	Common most places
House Finch	Carpodacus mexicanus	Common in Mobile
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Very common everywhere

Boat-tailed Grackle, parking lot at the Four Points Sheraton in New Orleans

Royal Tern, 15 nautical miles off the Florida Keys

Some other books covering birding in Alabama are given below:

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