Directions:
The Dauphin Island Airport is located west of the 3-way stop
after coming over the bridge onto the island.
Traveling west on Bienville take a right on Omega Street and travel until it
dead
ends into Chaumont. Take a left to travel towards the airport. A public
parking area is located at the end of this road. Please do not drive any
vehicles
on unpaved areas of the airport. Please take care to follow the rules and stay
out of areas marked as off limits or airport property.
Airport Birding areas:
On the west end of the tidal pools (directly across Chaumont from
the intersection of Omega) is an open field. Birds seen in this field can
include:
Wrens (sedge, marsh, carolina), sparrows (Savannah, swamp, song), and
flycatchers (scissor tail, eastern kingbirds).
The plants alongside the main road commonly have warblers and wrens. Birds seen
here can include:
palm warblers, wrens (sedge, marsh)
Walking the dirt road from the parking area there will be pools on your left
and
right. The water level in these pools varies greatly with the tides. Birds
seen
in the pools can include:
Herons (great blue, little blue, tri-colored), night
herons (black and yellow crowned), egrets (great, snowy, cattle), yellowlegs
(greater and lesser), black-necked stilts. When a low tide exposes some mud,
rails (king, virginia, black), soras, can be seen.
The inlet/saltmarsh to the south of the main road may require a spotting scope
for good views. Birds that can be seen here can include:
Ducks (mallards, fulvous whistling) and grebes (eared and horned). The marsh
area here can produce sparrows (seaside and Nelson's sharptailed) and almost
always
red winged blackbirds.
The pine trees on the west of Orleans are common roosting points for black and
yellow crowned night herons.
Pictures:
Birds:
Black crowned night heron in the pines
Black necked stilt in the pools
Blacked necked stilt and yellowlegs
Tricolored heron in the marsh
Reddish egret in the pools
Reddish egret doing a dance
Fulvous whistling duck in yard near airport
Another shot of fulvous whistling duck
Above photos by Mark Gregory
Red Winged Blackbird (March
03)
Many Egrets - Looking north from the road
(March 03)
Reddish Egret - Looking north from the
road (March 03)
What is this tricolored heron looking at?
(March 02)
Willet in the marsh south of the road
(March 02)
Another willet shot (March 02)
Close up of the willet (March 02)
Why did the clapper rail cross the
road? (March 02)
Clapper rail running across the road
(March 02)
Snowy egret showing off his yellow feet
It was COLD the day I took this, even
the great blue heron is hunkered down
Mallards sunning themselves
Mother mallard and babies
Egrets and gull billed terns
Pelicans flying in formation
Landscape:
Marsh looking south from parking area
Sunset over the marsh
Another shot of the marsh
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here
for more info on the airport.
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If you have more information, a comment, correction, or a picture
that you would like me to post just
email me
.
I'll give credit to the photographer if I post your picture.
