  Watchable Wildlife
3275 Natchez Trace Pkwy., Cherokee
AL Hwy. 133, Muscle Shoals
2700 Refuge Headquarters Rd., Decatur
5105 Nolen Ave., Huntsville
7966 AL Hwy. 227, Guntersville
13883 Co. Rd. 89, Fort Payne |
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Search for Watchable Wildlife Attractions, Events and Accommodations
This route follows the Tennessee River as it cuts a wide arc across the upper plateau of Alabama. 
Colbert Ferry Park, off the Natchez Trace Parkway, has a beaver swamp where hummingbirds are summer visitors. Several birds frequent the shores of Pickwick Lake here, including bald eagles after mid-November. The nearby Rock Spring Nature Trail offers good summer and winter birding that includes Acadian flycatchers, red-shouldered hawks, and woodpeckers. 
Loons, cormorants, herons, and a variety of rare gulls may be spotted near Wilson Dam on the Tennessee River. At the "Rockpile" on the south shore below the dam, the resourceful orioles' nests put discarded fishing line to practical use. The great crested flycatcher, Eastern kingbird, and prothonotary warbler also make their homes here. 
Along a 20-mile stretch of the Tennessee River, the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge provides a winter home for about 28,000 wild geese and 30,000 ducks. Among the 304 species of birds recorded here are the American avocet and Wilson's phalarope, which have a reputation for being hard-to-find birds. The sunset fly-ins of roosting waterfowl provide a spectacular sight. Upwards of 100 species can be observed in a morning during the spring migration season at Dancy Bottoms. 
Monte Sano State Park is home to a wide assortment of woodland birds, with many excellent trails available. At the nearby Monte Sano Nature Preserve, the Red Trail leads to Fagan Springs, which rings with the music of thrushes and warblers as morning breaks. The golden-crowned kinglet and winter wren have been spotted in this vicinity. The Connecticut warbler, an extremely rare migrant in Alabama, is on the record here. 
Eagle-watching has become a great sport in Marshall County. "Eagle Awareness" weekends in mid-to-late January feature guided field trips at Lake Guntersville State Park. Nearly two dozen bald eagles might be seen on a winter morning. Alongside the lake, the Town Creek watershed boasts Alabama's largest winter roost for the magnificent creatures. Numerous other species at the park include the yellow-billed cuckoo, a fairly common summer resident. 
A great variety of birds find a welcome habitat within the rugged terrain of DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon National Preserve. Winding trails and breathtaking overlooks throughout the vicinity provide ideal viewing sites. Rose-breasted grosbeaks and wood thrushes are among the woodland songbirds here, and autumn is a good time to watch for migrating raptors.