Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary (March 30, 2014)

The Place

Dauphin Island is on one of the major bird migration routes.  It is a resting spot for birds of all kinds after (or before) they have made the difficult and dangerous flight across the Gulf of Mexico.  To give these birds a safe place to rest on their travels, Dauphin Island provides this 164 acre sanctuary.  The sanctuary is crisscrossed with walking trails through pine forest and swamp, around a fresh water lake, along dunes and finally to the beach.  The sanctuary also has its share of permanent residents as well.

 

On our walk, we ran into an elderly couple who live in Mobile and have a home on Dauphin Island.  According to them, the Mobile city government decided to develop Dauphin Island in the 1950s.  At that time, they decided to set aside a significant amount of land that would remain natural and that could never be developed.  That is pretty impressive fore thought for the 1950s.  They then sold the property that was to be developed and used the revenue to build the causeway and bridge to get to the island.   According to this couple, the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board leases this bird sanctuary to the Audubon Society for $25 a year.

The Adventure

We spent about 2.5 hours walking through the bird sanctuary today.  We aren’t really “birders” and only know the species of birds most commonly found at home.  However, we do have binoculars and a bird book.  What struck us most was how many tiny birds there were in the sanctuary.  How could these little, bitty birds less than 5 inches long make that long migration?  But they do.  The woods were alive with bird song, and the underbrush fluttered with tiny wings moving about.  

The most exciting find was an osprey nest sitting on top of a pole/platform out in the open that had been taken over by a Great Horned Owl.  The owl had a fluffy white chick (on the right in the photo).  They watched us while we watched them.  Amazing!

Oh How We Love Dauphin Island AL (March 28 - ?)

The Place 

Dauphin Island is a 14 mile long barrier island in the mouth of Mobile Bay.  You reach it from the West via a long causeway and bridge which brings you to the center of the island.  You leave it to the East on a Ferry.   It bills itself as “The Way Family Vacations Used to Be.”  It is quiet, laid back and unassuming.  There are no tall buildings.  We haven’t seen a hotel yet. 

 

We’ve spent all of our time so far in the eastern quarter of the island.  In addition to the historic/scientific things to do here (which will be future posts because we haven’t done them yet), there are a handful of shops, a combination hardware/grocery/video rental store, a gas station, a seafood store, a bakery, and a campground run by the town.  The main street on the island (Bienville Blvd) is very wide with a median down the middle and a paved bike lane to the side (which we used yesterday).  The Gulf side of the Island is covered by a beautiful white sand beach.  

Most of the people we have met here have over-wintered here for 4, 5 or 6 years.  They really love it here, and we can see why.

The Adventure

We arrived in the middle of a tremendous thunderstorm that lasted about 30 hours and dumped 4 inches of rain across the region.  It started for us during the night in Mississippi and ended for us the next night here in Alabama.  Behind it came a 1 day warm front.  Yesterday, we went to the beach in the morning and again in the afternoon.  What bliss to sit in the sun, hear the waves lap against the sand, and smell the sea breeze!  Tiki and Russ swam.

 In between beach visits we toured our end of the island by bicycle.  We had an ice cream cone at the Marina and got bottled water at the Ship and Shore general store.  Perfect!

The Name

Dauphin is the French term for Prince, and was used to refer to the heir to the throne.  Dauphin Island was named for the Dauphin who would become Louis XV.  Dauphin is also the French term for dolphin, and the dolphin is represented on the coat of arms for the Dauphin.  Interestingly, though it may not have been that way at the time, the island viewed today on a map is kind of shaped like a dolphin.

Seeing Scars from Katrina at Buccaneer State Park, Waveland MS (March 26-28)

The Place

Hurricane Katrina ravaged this section of coastal Mississippi.  While New Orleans was being flooded, this part of coastal Mississippi took a direct hit with 20 foot storm surges, destroying homes up to 2 km inland.  Today, 8+ years later, you pass empty foundations and slabs, and weathered skeletons of destroyed dream beach homes.  It seems like one out of every three house sites has a newly built house, the rest are empty.  The trees have broken branches and trunks where the tops were blown out of them.  The beach is mostly gone, with seawalls holding up the road.  We had been told to expect this by friends who had been here and by fellow campers we’ve met in Louisiana.  It was still very sad when we saw it. 

Buccaneer State Park is brand new.  It has been totally rebuilt since Katrina, and they did a marvelous job.  The campsites are thoughtfully laid out with all of the amenities (water, electricity, sewer).  It has a water park (closed because it is still too cold here), swimming pool, Frisbee golf and a tiny little triangular beach built up around some rubble placed perpendicular from the shore to catch the sand.

The Adventure

Bayou Caddy Salt Marsh

Bayou Caddy Harbor

We went by bicycle to find a seafood store that was advertised as the “closest to the campground” on the campground map/brochure.  It was actually a place where the fishermen bring their catch before parking their boats at the Bayou Caddy harbor.  Bayou Caddy is a straight shot down to the Gulf with acres of salt marsh alongside it.   The advertisement said they sold shrimp, fish and crabs.  It wasn’t really a market, and they didn’t have any shrimp or fish because of the cold weather.  They were selling crabs as they sorted them to send to restaurants.  They were asking “Northern Virginia” prices so we declined.  Besides, we really weren’t sure how we were going to bring live crabs back in our backpacks by bicycle. 

At the intersection of Bayou Caddy and the Gulf is a brand new, fancy, enormous Casino with a huge parking deck.  A sign says that they will be opening a hotel attached to the Casino in Fall 2014.  They have an RV park down the road from the Casino right on the beach.  I am sure the region is welcoming the jobs and revenue the Casino has promised them.  If other businesses want to join in, there are lots of vacant house sites they can build upon. 

Resources:  http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/katrina/photo-comparisons/mainmississippi.html