Field Trip Location / Website
Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain State Park
Approximate Cost / Hours
None for the center, park admission is $3/adult - $2/child on weekends and $2/adult - $1/child on weekdays
Field Trip Description
The Alabama Wildlife Center is a wildlife rehabilitation center. In addition to being able to view baby animals and animals almost ready to return to the wild (squirrels, song birds, raptors, even the occasional otter and bobcat) Audubon holds several workshops throughout the year at the center.
Highlights
The Audubon programs at the Center are my child's favorite trips. We have seen presentations on numerous animals. Two recent trips were for a presentation on the importance of keeping wild babies wild where we got to see an opossum and a Mississippi kite that cannot be returned to the wild up close and a bird release where 3 pileated woodpeckers were returned to the wild. We got a guilty laugh out of the "trained" worker who was promptly pecked and instinctively released one of the birds well before the scheduled release.
In addition to special programs there are animal viewing opportunities year round.
My daughter always seems to learn more at these short presentations than from all the "class-time" at home. The presentations can be a bit dry for small children (say under 8 or so) but the subject matter helps keep them focused.
Tips and Tricks
- The road to the center is very steep and curvy. Be careful, especially in wet or cold weather.
- The programs rarely start on time. Most we have been to have started 10 to 30 minutes late.
- The website is unfortunately not updated regularly - if you don't see any information about an upcoming event - call!
