UA’s Moundville Park’s Birdfest Offers Fun for Adults, Children

UA’s Moundville Park’s Birdfest Offers Fun for Adults, Children

One of the rescued raptors that may make an appearance at Moundville Archaeological Park's Birdfest Saturday.
One of the rescued raptors that may make an appearance at Moundville Archaeological Park’s Birdfest Saturday.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park hosts its second annual Birdfest Saturday, May 28.

As a member of the West Alabama Birding Trail, Moundville Archaeological Park has held a bird outing as part of its Saturday in the Park program for the last several years.

“After the first few years, that particular Saturday program started drawing a larger crowd with more people interested in presenting or exhibiting,” said Betsy Irwin, park education outreach coordinator. “Last year, we started developing it as an independent event, and we know the public will be happy with the results. We’ll have presentations and activities for children and adults alike.”

Live rescued raptors housed in Oak Mountain State Park at the Alabama Wildlife Center are highlighted in programs presented at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Scottie Jackson, the center’s director of education and outreach, will bring at least five birds: an Eastern Screech Owl, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Barred Owl, an American Kestrel and a Great Horned Owl.

A Mississippi Kite, one of the many migratory birds found during the springtime at Moundville Archaeological Park, may also make an appearance.

Designs of supernatural raptors and other birds, drawn in wet clay, embossed onto copper or sculpted into stone, make up a significant portion of the collections exhibited in the park’s Jones Archaeological Museum.

The "Duck Bowl," which is on display in the Jones Museum, represents a supernatural version of a waterfowl.
The “Duck Bowl,” which is on display in the Jones Museum, represents a supernatural version of a waterfowl.

“Native Americans categorized animals in a different manner than we do today,” Irwin said. “Animals were assigned to the different planes in the cosmos – the watery underworld, the world we stand on or the upper world. Certain animals, like birds, were special because they could transcend between these different spheres.

“A waterfowl, like a duck or heron, could go between all three worlds. The ‘Duck Bowl,’ on display in the Jones Museum and touted by Harpers Magazine as one of the finest pieces of prehistoric sculpture in North America, represents a supernatural version of a waterfowl.”

The day also includes an informal bird count to collect information for the Moundville Biodiversity Project, a biology database recorded on iNaturalist. INaturalist.org is a website maintained by the California Academy of Sciences.

Its goal is to create “a living record of life on Earth that scientists and land managers could use to monitor changes in biodiversity and that anyone could use to learn more about nature.”

An iNaturalist mobile phone application simplifies this process so that anyone with a cell phone can become a “citizen scientist.”

Volunteers and University of Alabama Museums will staff a table devoted to helping visitors download and use the application and website during their stay at the park. Pictures taken are uploaded into the database with a time stamp and geolocation. If unsure, an observer can even ask scientists for help identifying different species of plants and animals.

Children can color sheets filled with different types of birds or make a rubbing off of a fossil bird cast from the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s paleontological collections. They make their own recycled, biodegradable planter with either gourd seeds to grow Martin gourds for birdhouses or sunflower seeds to become backyard bird food.

Gourd birdhouse maker John Belcher will demonstrate his craft and with his birdhouses available for sale. Other nature artists may also be exhibiting their bird paintings that visitors can purchase.

“I’ve spoken with several other artists around the state that are very interested in joining us,” said Kenric Minges, an Americorps Volunteer in Service to America, or VISTA,  who helps organize the Birdfest at Moundville Archaeological Park.

In addition to working with a multi-organizational project aimed at eliminating poverty through environmental and cultural education in Hale, Bibb and Jefferson counties, Minges serves as the chair of the West Alabama Birding Trail Committee.

Birdfest guests can take a bird walk with local experts, including one of the park’s newest volunteers, Dwight Lammon. He is a member of the Birmingham Audubon Society and will also lead a presentation full of beautiful images of birds that runs every other hour at the Nelson B. Jones Conference Center, located near the park’s overlook of the Black Warrior River.

Information on wildlife conservation, bird watching checklists, birdhouse plans and more will be available and free of charge.

Birdfest is free with regular paid admission to the park. Admission is $6 for students (ages 6 and above), $7 for seniors and $8 for adults. Moundville Archaeological Park is located 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa off of Alabama Highway 69. For more information phone Minges at 205-371-8732 or email lkminges@ua.edu.

Contact

Kim Eaton, 808/640-5912, kkeaton@ur.ua.edu

Source

Kenric Minges, 205/371-8732, lkminges@ua.edu