DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA
& the MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST
For First Stop Migrants Crossing the Gulf of Mexico,
Rarities, & other birds with a Southern Drawl
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Dates:
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Sunday, 8 April through Saturday, 14 April 2007: 7 days and 6 nights.
Please consider combining this tour with the Southwest Louisiana Tour that immediately precedes it.
You will receive a $200 discount if you register for both tours.
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Why this trip?
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You'll be staying every night in the same BEACH HOUSE. The
house will have shared accommodations giving us a friendly, family
atmosphere, as well as helping keep the cost as low as possible.
Home cooking will help get us off to a good start each day.
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Hotspots:
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Dauphin Island with its famous Shell Mound and Goat
Tree migrant traps. This area of the Gulf Coast is where migrants
get their first view of land after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. The
Gulf Coast is a great staging area for the travel-weary migrants.
Birding each day in the same locations may provide an entirely
different list of birds.
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Bon Secour, Sandhill Crane Refuge, and the National
Seashore will provide a diverse group of shorebirds, rails, and
waders.
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DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA
8-14 April 2007
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Agenda
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1
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Meet at the Mobile, Alabama Airport. Plan to arrive by about 12 noon.
We will bird our way to Dauphin Island where we spend every
night in the same beach house.
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2
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We'll start every day with a home cooked breakfast prepared for us in
the beach house. Birding today will consist of going to the Dauphin
Island Hot Spots--Shell Mound, Goat Tree, and the Airport Wetlands.
Target birds include Northern Parula, Prothonotary and
Worm-eating Warblers, along with Black Rail,
Sora, and Hudsonian Godwit.
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3
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After checking Shell Mound and Goat Tree for new arrivals, we will
board the ferry to Fort Morgan, on the east side of Mobile Bay. We
will check out the Banding Area and Bon Secour Refuge. Supper will be
at Lambert's, Home of the Throwed Rolls.
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4
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We'll check those hot spots again and then head for the Mississippi
Sandhill Crane Refuge and the National Seashore. These locations may
provide us with target birds like Sandhill Crane, Yellow
Rail, American Oystercatcher, and Northern Gannet.
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5
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After breakfast and checking the hot spots we head back to
Mississippi. The target sites today will be Ocean Springs Cemetery,
the Least Tern Project, and a drive the long white beach, all of the
time looking for terns, shorebirds, and perhaps
marine mammals. Supper at a sea-food restaurant along the
beach.
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There will be Piping Plovers on the beaches.
--Tom Amico
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6
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Today's birding will be a loop around Mobile Bay with an eye to the
water for waterfowl and to the sky for Kites--Swallow-tailed
and Mississippi.
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7
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Enjoy a great breakfast, check the hot spots and head toward the
airport. This is our last day, so we will try to find any birds that
had escaped our ever-probing eyes. The tour will end at the Mobile
Airport and your afternoon flights home.
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Leader:
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BIRD TREKS
second annual birding tour to the Gulf Coast of Alabama and
Mississippi will be led by Dan Watkins who has birded this
area many times. Dan is an experienced birder and field trip leader,
and his wife Jane makes a wonderful breakfast.
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Dan Watkins is your Gulf Coast leader.
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Price:
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$1695 per person. Register for this tour and the Southwest Louisiana
Tour that immediately precedes it and receive a $200 discount.
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Includes:
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Expert guide service, entrance fees, all ground transportation within
Alabama and Mississippi, ALL meals, and lodging for 6 nights.
ALL tips are also included in the tour fee, except for anything
that you may wish to give to your tour leader(s).
Does not include cost of airfare to and from Mobile, Alabama.
BIRD TREKS
will, upon request, help you obtain the least expensive air
transportation. Also not included are the cost of alcoholic beverages
and items of a personal nature.
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Deposit:
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A $400 deposit will assure your space on the tour. The balance is due
1 February 2007. We can take a limited number of people, so please
register early.
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Extra
Services:
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We offer the services of our exclusive
BIRD TREKS travel agent,
Lori Heathcote, in arranging your air travel. Lori has 21 years
of experience in the travel industry and is a veteran birder. Contact
her through Bailey Travel at 1-800-224-5399, or you can e-mail
lori@baileytravel.com.
By dealing with Lori you have the security of a 24-hour toll-free
telephone number in case of any travel emergency. She can also assist
you with all pre- and post-tour travel plans.
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Refund &
Cancellation
Policy:
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With written notice more than 60 days prior to the first day of the
tour, 100% of your deposit will be refunded, minus a $75 service fee.
With 30-60 days notice, you will receive a 50% refund of the full cost
of the tour. No refund can be made with less than 30 days notice.
You will receive a full refund if you provide a replacement.
We strongly recommend that you purchase trip
cancellation insurance to protect your investment in case of injury or
illness to you or your family prior to or during a tour. Click on the
following link to Access America or contact
BIRD TREKS for information
on obtaining this coverage.
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Robert M. Schutsky
216 Spring Lane
Peach Bottom, PA 17563
Phone: 717-548-3303
Fax: 717-548-3327
e-mail: info@birdtreks.com
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