Date: 8/25/26 4:27 pm From: Yaukey, Peter via groups.io <pyaukey...> Subject: [ALbirds] Looking for morning flight along east side of Mobile Bay
Hello ALBirders:
Early fall is a time when some migrant species move westbound through our area, heading (we presume) ultimately around the Gulf via Texas, including some species that frequently engage in morning flight (continued directional movement for the first 2-3 hours after sunrise). I have been eyeing up the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay, wondering whether birds deflect up the shoreline from the Gulf Coast, reluctant to cross the bay, which could progressively produce a concentrated flow northward along the bayshore.
After some scouting during brief forays into the Daphne area from I-10 in my frequent drives across the area, I decided to try a skywatch at Bayfront Park Drive. The park itself is closed for renovation, but there is a substantial swath of cleared land inland from there (commercial) that allows for skywatching. I stood behind the Publix for 24 minutes this morning, scanning both toward the water and back inland.
In those 24 minutes (7:32 start) there were 106 small passerines that passed heading north. I estimate 75% were gnatcatchers, the rest warblers (Yellow most likely dominant at this date). A couple Red-headed Woodpeckers did likewise. Purple Martins were also in the flow, but I suspect they were departing a roost rather than migrating (?).
To me, this is an encouraging result. About 60% of the birds were inland from my position (so backlit by the sun to my east), so next I will try standing a bit farther inland/east, to get better light on more of the flow. The peak of early-season westward movement is likely to be in the first week of September, when kingbirds have a pretty sharp peak of passage (often one dominant day, though exactly which day is hard to predict).
