Birdfest Set for October

The 17th Annual Alabama Coastal BirdFest is being held along the Alabama Gulf Coast on October 6-9. Organizer South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) expects hundreds of people from across North America to attend. The festival will feature guided birding and nature trips; boat excursions into Mobile Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta; workshops and seminars on hummingbirds, beginner and advanced birding, nature photography, building a backyard habitat, planning a national or international birding tour; and more. Though SALT says it “takes place from Gulf Shores to Dauphin Island, from Bon Secour to the Mobile Tensaw Delta and points in between,” 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center in Spanish Fort is the headquarters for the event. Another focal point is Coastal Alabama Community College’s Fairhope Campus, which will host a free, family-oriented bird and conservation expo on October 9. For more information, call SALT at 251-990-5004.