Escape to Island Paradise

Just 30 minutes south of the congestion on Interstate 10 is the Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island, it is surrounded by the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the brackish waters of Mobile Bay.

When the settlers arrived in Alabama in 1600 the only residence were Native Americans and ancestors to the wildlife still living in the Island’s protected sanctuary. The Bird Sanctuary consists of 164 acres of forest, marshes, and dunes, including a lake, a swamp and a beach. This Island sanctuary has survived severe hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and mankind.

In the 1960’s Dr. Wilson Gaillard, an avid birder and conservationist, recognized the need for an Island refuge to protect the natural ecosystem as well as provide safety and resources for the incredible numbers of migrating birds and butterflies.

Dauphin Island is considered one of the top birding locations. There are bald eagles, giant herons, ospreys, owls, cardinals, mocking birds and humming birds to name just a few. The Bird Sanctuary is the first landfall for migrant birds after their long flight across the Gulf from Central and South America each spring. Here birds find their first food, shelter and rest. It is also their last stop before heading south in the fall.

Springtime is when the routine battle of negotiating traffic on I-10, makes me feel like a caged bird. I just want to escape. Memories of the Bird Sanctuary lure me to take the 17B Dauphin Island exit off I-10.

In the early ‘70s, the sanctuary was very primitive and still unknown. Getting to Gaillard Lake required a machete and lots of courage to trudge through the alligator infested swamp.

Today I use the 1,000 ft. boardwalk built over the swamp that ends at the lake pier. Here I fed alligators, three different varieties of turtles, and birds I don’t know the names of because they are not from here, and I wonder just what they are called. Sounds of crickets, Gulf waves rolling on the beach, a multitude of bird songs, and the gentle gliding pelicans overhead prick at my connection to nature.

Many families living or visiting on the Island ride their bikes to the Sanctuary, and bring old bread to feed the animals.

Dauphin Island became a town in 1988 and the Islanders have kept the towering condos, massive hotels and shopping centers away. You can rent a cottage or stay in a small local hotel. There are three or four places to eat fresh seafood, grab a burger at the walk up and fish for your dinner. Mobile is just over the bridge. After 1979 Hurricane Fredrick the new bridge opened in 1982, and last year stood up to Hurricane Ivan without any damage.

In 1967, the Bird Sanctuary was officially included as part of the national system of Audubon wildlife sanctuaries. Learn more about Dauphin Island and the Bird Sanctuary by visiting this site http://dauphinisland.org/bird.htm , or drive down I-10 -get off at the 17B Dauphins Island exit.