Snowy Egret
As of July 1st, 2025, the first day of our current fiscal year.
Who We Are
Board of Directors Sta f f
R. SCOT DUNCAN, PhD Executive Director
LIANNE KOCZUR, PhD Science & Conservation Director
ELLEN KILLOUGH Development Director
KEITH A. WOLFE-HUGHES Financial & Administrative Director
ANDREW LYDEARD Program Coordinator
ALLISON CIAMARRA Communications Coordinator
TIM HIGGINS Black Belt Coordinator
CORTNEY WEATHERBY Coastal Outreach Manager
OLIVIA MORPETH Coastal Biologist
SAM FISHMAN Coastal Biologist
CLAUDIA FROSCH Seasonal Biologist
DREW HAFFENDEN Seasonal Biologist
LOIS WOODWARD President
MATT HUNTER President-Elect
LORI OSWALD Treasurer
HEATHER McCALLEY Secretary VP Development & Membership
WINSTON LANCASTER VP Conservation & Science
MARJ YOUNG VP Field Trips At-Large
MAGGIE AMSLER
DEREK CONRAD BROWN
JONAH COHEN
BARRY FLEMING
GREG HARBER
ANNETTE KINDERMAN
CLIFF MARTIN
JACQUELINE GRAY MILLER
LINDA NEIGHBORS
JOE WATTS
MICHELLE WOOTEN
Thank You Members & Supporters
It’s been another year of exciting growth at Alabama Audubon, with major wins in science, conservation, and programming. At the coast, we made breakthroughs in protecting Snowy Plovers and other shorebirds. Our bird banding expanded to winter sparrow research in the Black Belt, and in April we banded a record 500+ birds in one day at Fort Morgan.
The 4th Annual Black Belt Birding Festival in 2024 drew record attendance from eight states, generating over seventy thousand dollars for local businesses and boosting the region’s birding profile.
In our fiscal year 2025, we hosted 90+ outdoor events for 1,250 participants and reached 3,000+ people through public presentations. We work hard because Alabama’s birds need us—and we need you. Thank you for supporting the state’s strongest voice for birds and the people who love them.
R. Scot Duncan, Alabama Audubon Executive Director
Our Mission
Active since 1927, and formally established in 1946, Alabama Audubon's mission has always been to promote conservation and a greater knowledge of birds, their habitats, and the natural world.
Red-necked Phalarope
Travel & Events
Membership Events
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Chapman Mountain
Gulf Shores Ecotourism Tour
Annual Meeting
Nature at Noon
Events: 7
Attendees: 147
Coastal Outreach Events
Events: 26
Attendees: 2,037
Ticketed Events: 12
Attendees: 216
Free Events:
Coastal: 17 Events / 200 Attendees
Beginner Birding Events: 7 Events / 96 Attendees
Accessible Events: 9 Events / 111 Attendees
Swift Night Out: 5 Events / 76 Attendees
Presentations : 40 Events / 1,150 Attendees
Volunteer-led Field Trips
Birding Trips: 19
Attendees: 316
Butterfly Field Trips : 2
Attendees: 52
Belize // November 2024 (8 days)
9 Passengers
229 Species seen
Led by R. Scot Duncan
Cuba // March 2025 (8 days)
9 Passengers
145 Species seen
Led by Andrew Lydeard
Arizona // May 2025 (8 days)
7 Passengers
181 Species seen
Led by Andrew Lydeard
Northern Gannet
Coastal Stewardship Program
COASTAL SURVEYS & NEST MONITORING
Nest Monitoring
Total Surveys: 725
Acres Surveyed: 1,074
Acres Fenced: 122
Volunteers: 8
Volunteer Hours: 135
Total Nests Monitored: 3,250
Total Fledglings: 1,410
The Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program (ALCBSP) is funded with Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Settlement Fund provided by the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group. This project is further supported by the National Audubon Society through funding from Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Audubon Coastal Bird Surveys
Routes : 21
Volunteers: 16
Volunteer Hours: 205
Species Recorded: 171
Snowy Plovers
Project Safe Flight
Fixed Buildings: In 2025 , we covered 1,038 square feet of windows at Auburn University’s Wildlife Building and purchased decals to cover ~675 square feet of windows at Greene Hall.
Thanks to EBSCO Community Impact & Protective Life Foundation, and Cliff and Cindy Martin for funding this effort!
Our first annual Avian Ally Award was presented to UAB Facilities Division for it's incredible efforts to make new buildings on campus safe for birds.
The new Altec-Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Science Building has bird-safe windows.
Fall 2024
Surveys: 348
Volunteers: 37
Cities: 7
Dead/injured birds: 261
Project Safe Flight
Spring 2025
Surveys: 191
Volunteers: 23
Cities: 7
Dead/injured birds: 89
Most Common Tennessee Warbler: 37
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 22
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 14
Most Common Cedar Waxwing: 12 Ovenbird: 7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 5
We recruit, train, and rely on volunteers across the state to survey for bird-window collisions, and to help us identify high-risk buildings. When dead birds are found, the building and species are input into a database. When a high-risk building is identified, we try to work with the building owners to reduce collisions deaths.
Coastal Banding
FORT MORGAN APRIL 2025
Visitors: 450
Birds Banded: 747
Birds Recaptured: 70
Species: 43
All banding done under BBL federal licenses.
Noteworthy: On April 16, 2025, there was a fallout on the coast. Birds started migrating over the Gulf with winds coming from the south, but at some point during that journey the wind shifted north and strengthened. This caused the birds to expend more energy trying to fight against the wind, and they dropped down at Fort Morgan to rest.
We banded nearly 500 birds that day , half of which were Wood Thrushes.
Thanks to the great team working at the banding station, all birds were banded and released quickly.
Painted Bunting Summer Tanager
MAPS Banding at Ruffner
Notable Species
Acadian Flycatcher
Worm-eating Warbler
Swainson’s Thrush
Swainson’s Warbler
Banded Birds: 113 Species: 18 Recaptures: 57
MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) is a continent-wide program aimed at understanding the productivity and survival of birds. During the summer of 2024 we had our second year of MAPS banding at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. Some birds were recaptured that we banded in 2023, including 4 Carolina Wrens, 2 Eastern Towhees, 1 Northern Cardinal, 4 Kentucky Warblers, 1 Swainson’s Warbler, and 4 White-eyed Vireos.
In partnership with Jefferson County Greenways we started a MAPS banding station at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve in 2023.
Most Common Species
Hooded Warbler: 25
White-eyed Vireo: 17
Kentucky Warbler
Banding in the Black Belt
Winter 2024 - 2025 we started a new research project on the birds that spend the winter in Alabama’s Black Belt prairies. The goal is to learn more about the species diversity, whether the same birds are staying at a site all winter, and if they come back to the same site in subsequent years. 206 birds were captured and banded across two sites, with 56 recaptures of 44 individual birds.
The most common species was the Swamp Sparrow, but we also caught Savannah, LeConte’s, Field, White-throated, and Song Sparrows. So far, we’ve learned that some of these birds are sticking around for the winter. We are looking forward to see if they come back winter 2024-2025! Thanks to Hazel and Mitchell Bell and Elise Smith for letting us conduct this work on their properties and to the 30 volunteers who helped us catch birds.
Savannah Sparrow LeConte's Sparrow
Black Belt Bus Tours
2 Bus Tours
Attendees : 50 Areas Explored:
Falls Perry Lakes Park
M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area
Spillway Falls
Perry Lakes Park
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
Spillway
Black Belt Birding Festival 2024
Our 4th Annual Black Belt Birding Festival, held August 2–4, 2024, was our biggest yet! Over 220 attendees from around the US participated in 18 birding activities across Dallas, Hale, Perry, and Sumter counties, with over 500 event registrations—a 36% increase from last year . The festival brought in $50,000 of revenue to local businesses. The festival kicked off with live blues music by Debbie Bond and the Alabama Blues Project at Project Horseshoe Farm in Greensboro , where conservation partners showcased their organizations.
Guests of Honor included Bonner Black, singer-songwriter and birder, and Damion Bankhead, birder, musician, and professional photographer.
Black Belt Birding Festival 2024
Saturday’s birding trips included the first-ever tour across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, with Selma native Terry Chestnut sharing his experiences of Bloody Sunday and Civil Rights history. Trips took place at Perry Lakes Park, Payne Lake, and other key birding spots, including the Kite Show at the Joe Farm , where Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites thrilled onlookers. Afternoon events included a Birds of Prey presentation by the Alabama Wildlife Center and a keynote address by Dr. Dwayne Estes on grassland conservation .
Community-led events added to the excitement, such as an art festival organized by Aaron Sanders Head at Sumac Cottage , featuring 11 regional artists. UAB art professor Douglas Baulos, along with student Matthew Ragsdale from Bloom Studio , engaged visitors and locals in painting a "movable mural" showcasing birds native to the Black Belt.
Bird of the Year 2025
2025 Bird of the Year: The Snowy Plover
This tiny shorebird is a species of Highest Conservation Concern in Alabama, threatened by habitat loss, predation, and human disturbance. Snowy Plovers nest directly on sandy beaches, making their eggs and chicks especially vulnerable.
Highlighting this species will support our ongoing coastal monitoring and conservation efforts to protect their fragile populations.
Attendees: 156
Bird of the Year 2025
Bird of the Year Fundraiser
The second annual Bird of the Year Fundraiser took place February 1, 2025, at Cahaba Brewing Company in Birmingham, celebrating a successful 2024 and revealing the 2025 Bird of the Year.
About Bird of the Year
Each year, Alabama Audubon selects a native bird species—either a year-round resident or regular migrant—that benefits from the organization’s conservation programs. The chosen bird is celebrated statewide through events, outreach, and education, giving the public the chance to learn far more than what’s in a field guide.
Artist Ava Bailey and her family showcase her one-of-a-kind painting.
Thank you to all our supporters who came out for food, silent auction, and birdy company!
Michelle Wooten poses in front of a life-sized drawing of an albatross, provided by James Lowery.
Giving Back
Walter F. Coxe Grants Education MiniGrants
We are actively building partnerships throughout the state that support educational nonprofits. Each of our MiniGrant recipients has been awarded a different amount based on project size and demonstrated need, totaling $3,000.
Walter F. Coxe Research Grants provided up to $15,028 in seed funding for projects that advance the exploration and conservation of Alabama’s plants and animals , with priority given to field-based research in the state. There were 7 recipients.
Turtle Point Science Center (Escambia County)
J.
Turtle Point Science Center Director, Sierra Stiles, accepts the Education MiniGrant award.
Larry Newton Elementary School (Baldwin County)
Dauphin Island Sea Lab (Mobile County)
Kern Freesland, MS student, Alabama A&M University. Breeding and Migratory Ecology of Two Nightjar Species in William B. Bankhead National Forest –Application of Remote Tracking.
All information presented is for Alabama Audubon’s fiscal year (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025).
Dickcissel
Donors
The board and staff of Alabama Audubon extend our sincere appreciation to this community of Members, Donors, Sponsors, and Partners who made our important work possible.
$10,000 & Above
Great Blue Heron
Alabama Black Belt Adventures
Alabama Department of Tourism
Alabama Power Foundation
Bama Buzz
Bham Now
Cliff & Cindy Martin
EBSCO Community Impact
The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama
The Diane & Tram Sessions Foundation
The Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation
The Richard Pigford Memorial Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
$1,000 to $9,999
Reddish Egret
Anonymous
Anne Maura
Baldwin County Sewer Service
BankPlus
Bill Carswell
Cameron M. & Scott Vowell
Cindy Armour
Dana Pigford
David Hardin
Emily & Jack Leigh
Heather & Winston McCalley
Hub International
James & Deborah Wadsworth
JH Wright
Jim & Katherine Shepherd
Linda Neighbors
Lois Woodward & Henry Hughes
Lori Oswald & Hans Paul
Point Break Solutions
Protective Life Foundation
Rick Horsley
Sandra G. Allinson
Scot Duncan
Seek Alabama
Shannon Browne
Steven N Austad & J. Veronika Kiklevich
The C. Eugene Ireland Foundation
The Goldenrod Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
The Jones Family Fund
The Rushton Stockham Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
The Town of Summerdale
William Miller
$500 to $999
Adams Stewart Architects
Alice Christenson
Becky & Bill Smith
Bryant Bank
Carol Furman
Charles Ball
Christy Cox
David Vance
Denise Shaw
Ed Balthrop
Fortiline Water Works
Friends of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Ginger Deason
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa
Kathryn & Allen Corey
Linda Cicero in memory of Dr. Miriam Collins
Mary Boehm
Mary Stockard
Patti & Hal Tichenor
Pelham Rowan & Lisa Bailey
Scott & Debbie LeCroy
Shelia L. Shaw
Skylark Medical
The Kay and Lee Bains Charitable Fund
Wanda Whyte
$250 to $499
Beckie Humphries / Edward Jones
Coca Cola Bottling Company United
David & Robin Anderson
Donald B. & Ann Sweeney
Elizabeth Delzell
Gary & Carol Warner
Herb & Terry Lewis
Jim & Ferne McClintock
Joe & Ann Watts
Joel Martin
Joseph Desautels
Joyce & Roy Vallance
Lucy & Bob Duncan
Matt Hunter & Carolyn Brockman
Melanie Seibold
Michael Rogers
Michael Yester
Pamela McLain
Paul West
Robert Kunzig
Rojo
Sam & Dale Foley
The J.E. and Marjorie B. Pittman Foundation
William Deveau
The Annual Report 2024-2025 is dedicated to the everyday birds of Alabama.
Photo Credits
Cover page-Snowy Plover nest by Evan Barrientos // National Audubon Digital Asset
End page-Great Egret by Greg Harber
All photo rights are owned by Alabama Audubon unless otherwise listed.
All information presented is for Alabama Audubon’s fiscal year (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025).