Russ Bailey was a long-time member of Birmingham Audubon, and “back in the day” when we held only one field trip per month, Russ would have an impromptu field trip on the Labor Day holiday. His philosophy was that with the southbound migration well underway it was pointless to waste a perfectly good day of birding!

Russ usually went to Lake Purdy to look for shorebirds but the past few years the shorebirding there has been lackluster due to changing water levels in the lake. Therefore, this year we’re headed to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, a well-known local birding hotspot. Ruffner’s woodland habitat and myriad hiking trails will provide excellent birding opportunities as we look for colorful warblers, vireos, tanagers and thrushes. You can read more about Ruffner Mountain on the Alabama Birding Trails website, here.

Plans: Meet at 7:00 a.m. at the main parking lot at the entrance to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, which is located at 1214 81st St S., Birmingham, AL 35206. Ruffner's phone number is (205) 833-8264. We will bird in the vicinity of the parking lot first, as it often provides excellent views of birds in the shrubby vegetation and adjacent hardwoods. We will then proceed up the mountain in search of more migrants.

Trip leader: Greg Harber, 205-807- 8055 (cell).