Spring 2021

COVID-19 alert: Please expect to follow guidelines for outdoor gatherings, especially social distancing, no sharing of equipment, and minimal ride-sharing for the 2021 spring season.  Some trips may require registration and have a cap on group size.

For the most up-to-date information, please visit our Facebook Events page at https://www.facebook.com/mscoastaudubon/.

March Saturdays

3/13 Jones Park and Beach, Harrison County

  • Leader: Lori McDonald mleigh167@cableone.net (228) 324-5226
  • Some of our winter visitors will still be on the beaches, and migrants will be coming through. Brush up on changing shorebird plumage! Quirky seasonal weather can give real birding surprises.
  • Place and time: Meet at Jones Park Pavilion at 7:30 AM.
  • Conditions: Beach walking.  Possibility of driving to nearby sites.
  • REMINDER:  Please observe Covid precautions: distancing and no sharing of equipment including scopes.  We’ll aim to get close to birds and not to each other!

3/20 Fontainebleau: Birds, Bugs, & Botany, Jackson Co.

  • Leader: Mark LaSalle mwlasalle@gmail.com, (228) 990-1495
  • Join all-round naturalist Dr. Mark LaSalle to look for year-round residents and possible early migrants in pine savanna and bayhead habitat, while identifying wildflowers and leafing trees in spring glory. The Fontainebleau Trail is part of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Habitat management including burning and a new savanna loop have significantly enhanced the bird habitat.  Something for everyone!
  • Place and time: Meet at trailhead on Hanshaw Rd. Ocean Springs, N. of OS Middle School (MAP), 8:00 AM.
  • Conditions: Easy 1.7-mile walking trail. Boots strongly recommended after rain as parts of the trail can have standing water.

3/27 Ladner Pier & Hancock Beaches (Audubon Coastal Bird Survey)

Leader: Barbara Bowen, bbwilletslp@yahoo.com, (602) 319-0538

  • Since 2010, MCAS volunteers have conducted fall, winter and spring surveys of our coastal birds at multiple sites in Mississippi.  Join survey leader Barbara Bowen to learn about the surveys while mastering those confusing shorebirds.  Plovers, sandpipers, terns, unusual gulls, and waders all possible, and there are likely to be surprises.
  • Place and time: Meet at Washington St. Pier in Bay St Louis (MAP) at 7:30 AM for about an hour observing birds there and learning ID tips. We will then drive to Ladner Pier in Waveland for the official ACBS survey from about 8:30-10. If there’s interest, we may continue to one more site.
  • Conditions:  Walking on beach, driving between stops.

April Saturdays

4/3 Owl Howl at Ward Bayou, Jackson County *Rescheduled to 5/8

  • Leader: Mark Woodrey mark.woodrey@msstate.edu, (228) 697-0460
  • We’re howling again!  Join Dr. Mark Woodrey to listen for, call, and see owls in classic river bottomland habitat, and find out what else is active as the sun goes down.  This trip was a big hit in 2019, so we’re repeating it by popular demand.
  • Place and time:  Meet at the WMA check-in station (MAP) at 7:00 PM (see note below about check-in).
  • Conditions:  Bugs are definitely possible.  Expect driving and stops, but also some walking in variably wet areas – boots and flashlight recommended. You must have a Wildlife Management Area User permit.  Season and day permits are sold at WalMart (see WMA User Permit here, or ask about a day permit or a Senior Exempt License) or online at https://www.ms.gov/mdwfp/licensing/login [the website is confusing, but fill out the application and you’ll get a choice]. Also note that WMAs no longer use the paper card check-in system. You will need to download a smartphone app called “WMA Check-In” from https://www.mdwfp.com/license/mdwfp-mobile-apps/  and use that to check in and out. 
  • NOTE: Dependent on water level at Ward Bayou.  Check in with Dr. Woodrey on day of event.

4/10  Hiller Park & Biloxi Back Bay area, Harrison Co.

Leader: Dave Reed vickianddave1@gmail.com (985) 788-0536

  • We will be looking for nesting residents as well as migrants at several Biloxi area parks.  Starting at Hiller Park on Biloxi Back Bay, we will then check Popps Ferry Causeway Park and James Hill Boardwalk.  Good way to learn some new birding spots if you don’t know these, and this is a great one for beginning birders as well as old-timers.
  • Place and Time:  Meet at the Hiller Park Tennis Courts (MAP) at 7:30 AM.
  • Conditions: Easy walking, drive between spots.

4/17 Ansley Preserve, Hancock County

  • Leader: Nancy Madden birdloverms@gmail.com (228) 229-7108.
  • Catch those migrants at this legendary coastal chenier migrant trap. This site is part of the Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail: more information at http://mscoastbirdingtrail.audubon.org/ansley-preserve.html
  • Place and time:  Meet at Ansley preserve parking lot (MAP), 7:00 AM. (Driving directions: From Hwy 90 in Waveland, south on Lower Bay Road 71/2 miles to Heron Bay Road (34th St). Left onto Heron Bay Road ca. 2 1/2 miles to Preserve).
  • Conditions: Alternating short walks with short drives. Biting bugs may be present. Most walking areas should be dry. 

4/24 DeSoto National Forest (Bethel area), Harrison Co.

  • Leader: Gerry Morgan gerrymorgan@cableone.net (228) 239-6787.
  • We’ll be hunting the iconic Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW), along with other nesting birds of what used to be the South’s most widespread habitat, the pine savanna: Pine and Prairie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Brown-headed Nuthatch, flycatchers and the elusive Bachman’s Sparrow.  Great chance to learn bird songs!
  • Place and time: Meet at the Bethel Bike Trails turnoff from MS-15, 7:30am.
  • Conditions: Driving on gravel forest road, walking on trails.  Bugs possible.

May Saturdays

5/1 *Canceled (water level too high) Boneyard Lake Rookery (by kayak), Jackson Co.

  • Leader: Janet Wright, jwright01@cableone.net, (228) 238-4099 and Collin Stempien, collin.stempien@audubon.org, (832) 585-9504.
  • Boneyard’s haunting beauty hosts a spectacular heronry of Little Blue, Green and Tri-colored Heron, Great, Snowy and Cattle Egret and White Ibis in spring. Other birds that can be expected: Purple and Common Gallinules, nesting warblers, vireos, variety of marsh-oriented birds. By kayaking in, we can get the best views of the nesting rookery.  A photographer’s dream.
  • Place and time:  Meet at the Chevron Station in Wade at the corner of Hwy 63 and 614 (MAP) at 5:45 AM (early hour to give time to launch and see the rookery at its best).
  • Special instructions: You MUST REGISTER (call/text Janet 228 238-4099) because trip depends on weather and water level.  Bring your own kayak or small boat*, life vest, bug repellent, water, snacks, etc.  You must also have a Wildlife Management Area User permit.  Season and day permits are sold at WalMart (see WMA User Permit here, or ask about a day permit or a Senior Exempt License) or online at https://www.ms.gov/mdwfp/hunting_fishing/ [the website is confusing, but fill out the application and you’ll get a choice]. Also note that WMAs no longer use the paper card check-in system. You will need to download a smartphone app called “WMA Check-In” from https://www.mdwfp.com/license/mdwfp-mobile-apps/  and use that to check in and out. 
  • *DON’T HAVE A KAYAK? Watch for special instructions about kayak rentals for this unique trip (TBA, or call/text Janet Wright at 228 238-4099).

5/8 Tern Fair, Pascagoula River Audubon Center 9AM – 3PM

  • Our partner group Audubon Mississippi is pleased to host Tern Fair, a scaled down version of the annual “Tern Fest.”
  • Tern Fair will welcome Mississippi’s charismatic, summer residents–the Least Terns–as well as human residents and tourists alike. Mississippi hosts one of the largest nesting concentrations of Least Terns in the world. Nowhere else will you have the same opportunity to see so many birds nest on the beach. This event is a celebration of our heritage and the unique culture, ecology and economy that makes up the coastal Mississippi spirit.
  • This event is free and open to everyone. It will feature educational booths, children’s crafts and games, food trucks, and artisans. It will also unveil this year’s “kid signs” that will be placed along the Least Tern nesting areas. Event attendees will learn about the ecology, threats, and the importance of conservation of Least Terns as they visit the event booths and vendors.  Watch for the MCAS table!

5/8 Owl Howl at Ward Bayou, Jackson County (CANCELED due to water level)

  • Leader: Mark Woodrey mark.woodrey@msstate.edu, (228) 697-0460
  • We’re howling again!  Join Dr. Mark Woodrey to listen for, call, and see owls in classic river bottomland habitat, and find out what else is active as the sun goes down.  This trip was a big hit in 2019, so we’re repeating it by popular demand.
  • Place and time:  Meet at the WMA check-in station (MAP) at 7:00 PM (update about check-in — you will NOT need a Wildlife Area Permit for this event as we have a waiver).
  • Conditions:  Bugs are definitely possible.  Expect driving and stops, but also some walking in variably wet areas – boots and flashlight recommended

5/15 Tern Nesting Colonies, Harrison Co.

  • Leader: Rhonda Plitt rplitt@yahoo.com (601) 916-2457
  • Mississippi beaches are primary nesting sites for Least Terns, Black Skimmers, and other coastal birds.  We will observe and learn to identify nesting behaviors, nests and eggs of terns and skimmers, and learn what stewards will be doing through the spring and summer to guard nests and chicks at colony sites.
  • Place and time: Meet at the parking lot at Courthouse Rd and Beach Boulevard in Gulfport  (MAP) at 7:00 AM.  We will drive from there to several colonies.
  • Conditions:  Driving, with short walks on beach.  Wear sunscreen and bring water.  Good opportunity for spotting scopes.

5/22 Devil’s Swamp Wetland Mitigation Bank, Hancock County

  • Leaders:  Robert Smith rsmithent@msn.com, (228) 990-0559 and Darrin Harris, Wetlands Solutions
  • Devil’s Swamp includes thousands of acres of restored savannah, cypress-sedge communities, bottomland hardwood, and other habitats.  While onsite, we will talk about how wetland mitigation banks work and how they can provide significant ecological benefits besides mitigating wetland loss.  We expect to see a diversity of grassland, shrubland, bottomland hardwood, and open-pineywoods birds.  While we don’t expect to see any on this trip, yellow rails have been observed on this site as well. 
    Place and time:  Meet in the parking lot of Mississippi Welcome Center at Interstate 10 Exit 2 (MAP) no later than 7:30am to convoy to the north side of the interstate and access the site.
  • Special Instructions: 
    1.  Use the restroom at the Welcome Center, as there are NO restrooms on site.
    2.  Note that this site is not open to the public, and access is through special arrangement. 
    3.  We will mostly be birding from the existing gravel & dirt road network, where culverts have been replaced with low water crossings.  If you wish to bring a UTV or some other form of rough-country transportation, feel free.  Once we get to the site, we will car pool into as few vehicles as we can reasonably do with Covid restrictions.
  • Conditions:  This site is not maintained for general public access.  Our access to the site will be determined by rainfall prior to the trip and the types of vehicles available during the trip.  Expect slow driving with stops.  To stomp around in the savannah for sparrows and other birds, wear field clothes, including waterproof boots.  The group will need to stay together (socially distanced of course).

5/29 Bluebird Trail, Gulfport

  • Leader:  John Lipscomb, jlipscomb@cableone.net 228-342-0361
  • Follow the Bluebird Trail! John Lipscomb has monitored the early lives of thousands of bluebirds on the longest-running, most extensive nest-box trail of Eastern Bluebirds in South Mississippi.  After a short presentation, John will take participants on one of his nest-box trails for data collection and intimate views of bluebird life and the dramas of nesting success or failure. 
  • Place and time:  Meet in the parking lot of Seashore Highlands Assisted Living, 12170 Highland Way, Gulfport, MS (MAP) at 8:00 am.

Conditions: Easy walking, bug spray recommended.  Please bring a mask (required by this Assisted-Living facility).