Dauphin Island Times

Today we have a couple of news items for our Dauphin Island birder friends.

Mobile Bay Audubon Society Annual Christmas Party

First, the Mobile Bay Audubon Society will hold its annual Christmas party at 7:30pm at the Government Street Baptist Church in Mobile. Bring an hors d'oeuvre and partake in an evening of good food and conversation. More information can be found on the Mobile Bay Audubon Society web site.

Native and Visiting Birds Need Habitat

Upon arrival to the island, Dauphin Island vacationers will notice how this year's hurricate season has affected the foliage. Many of the trees, bushes, and undergrowth are brown or were blown down or swept away. Wind, rain, and flooding combined to severely reduce available habitat for birds, many of which migrate to the gulf coast region to spend winter.

Birders in the gulf coast region are working to replace lost habitat. In neighboring Misssissippi, Operation Backyard Recovery recruits the local community to pitch in to provide shelter and habitat for our feathered friends.

So often we take for granted that birds use the trees for roosting and nesting and shrubs for cover. The shrubs also serve as a buffet of berries, fruit and tasty insects.

So, without their roosting, cover and feeding sites, the birds that fly south for the winter may not survive the journey.

Mississippi birder and author Judy Toups of Gulfport was quick to recognize this problem, particularly in urban areas where most if not all large trees have been lost to the storm. She called her fellow birders to the rescue.

She calls this Operation Backyard Recovery and it caught the attention of Audubon Mississippi.

Now Toups is working with the various Audubon chapters, the National Audubon Society and other partners in south Mississippi and elsewhere to promote the recovery of habitat for birds and other wildlife in Katrina-stricken areas.

With Operation Backyard Recovery, we can help ourselves while helping our fine, feathered friends.

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