27
Dec

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge near Decatur and Huntsville, Alabama

This is a great place for watching Sandhill Cranes – up close and personal!  And take a good look because there will probably be a few Whooping Cranes mixed right in.

Wheeler NWR is one of my favorite places for birds.  Cleon and I have been here before and have always seen quite a few species, but what we really like is we see so many of certain species of waterfowl and wading birds.  This is a great place to watch these birds interact with each other.  Also to watch individual behavior such as foraging, preening, moving, resting.

I took both of these photos from the blind that is the building. A great, expansive view of thousands of cranes – all intermingling. And chatting!

And because of the way this refuge is set up, you can get close to these birds – even the ones who normally are quite skittish like Green-winged Teals.

I have never been to a wildlife refuge that is set up better than this one for easy wildlife viewing.  There are 2 good-sized blinds for viewing, photography, and filming.  One is a small building and although it is not cooled or heated, it does protect you from the elements – sun, rain, and wind.  And there are good-sized viewing openings both low and high so adults and children can comfortably look out.  This building has been placed at the edge of the large area where thousands and thousands of Sandhill Cranes – intermixed with a few Whooping Cranes – come to rest and socialize all winter long.  Here is one of the videos I shot from an opening from within this building:  Sandhill Cranes 1.  Keep your volume turned up to hear them.  And you will hear what sounds like opening and shutting of something.  That is the opening and closing of the slots from which everyone can view and photograph.  Besides several other photographers, there was a mother with her young daughter – they stayed a long time just watching.  The mother was speaking softly to her – I am guessing explaining.  The little girl was quiet and very attentive.  Love to see this!

Our list from this building blind:
Sandhill Cranes
Whooping Cranes

Sandhill Crane. Photo by Paul Crook on Unsplash.
Whooping Cranes. They are similar in appearance to Sandhill Cranes. Light gray for Sandhills and white for Whooping. Whooping Cranes are about 6 inches taller and weigh about 5 more pounds. Photo by Josie Weiss on Unsplash.

The second blind is actually a solid fence with openings at several different heights.  This fence is at the edge of another area – smaller – where the cranes also congregate.

Viewing birds just does not get any better than this!

But I think the pièce de résistance is their “extra” building.  Cleon and I have been to many national wildlife refuges all over the country and every one of them had a good viewing area for birds – most often it is of a feeder area which sometimes includes a bird bath.  Occasionally it is a view out over a pond or small lake.  These viewing areas are inside the Visitor’s Center and most often are a large wall of windows with close-by chairs or benches.  Sometimes there is a sound system so you can hear the birds.  Sometimes binoculars will be provided.  But Wheeler is different – and in my opinion, so much better.  Their wildlife viewing area is actually in a whole other building from their large Visitor’s Center.  There is a smooth, fairly wide, and flat trail that leads from the Visitor’s Center and parking lot to this extra building.  And it is a big building.

When you enter, there are windows through which you can see the pond on whose banks it is built.  If you walk to the end of the entry hall, there are more windows that give you a slightly different view.  But if you turn right as soon as you enter, you enter a very large room with a very tall ceiling.  The entire wall overlooking the pond is floor to ceiling windows.  You not only see the pond itself, and much of the grassland beyond, you also see a whole lot of sky.  There are low bleachers along the wall – my guess is these would comfortably sit more than 2 dozen people with all their paraphernalia like binoculars, field guides, notebooks, and jackets.  There is also a good scope which anyone can use.  This viewing area is at the bank of the pond, and the ducks and geese are right in front of you and in good numbers.  It is the best place I have ever been in for viewing waterfowl and waders up close.  And these birds have no idea you are watching – they are just going about their lives and daily activities.  You will get a close up look at foraging, preening, socializing.  All in comfort.  You can sit or stand.  Walk around.  The birds will never see your movement or hear your voice.  Here is a video to show you just how great this viewing is.  Consider keeping your volume off.  Another mother talking softly to her 3 children – 2 boys and a girl.  This family stayed quite some time in this viewing area – sitting on the bleachers – and enjoying all the birds.  Click here:  The pond – what a great view!

Our list from this viewing building:
Green-winged Teals – both male and female
Snow Geese
Greater White-fronted Geese
Canada Geese
Northern Pintails – males and females
Northern Shovelers – males
Mallards -males and females
Redheads – 3 males
Hooded Mergansers – 3 males

Male Green-winged Teal. Photo by Hans Veth on Unsplash.
Snow Goose – white morph. I took this photo at Desoto NWR, NE
Greater White-fronted Goose. Photo by Mike B. on Unsplash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male Northern Pintail. Photo by Aleksandar Popovski on Unsplash.
Male and female Northern Shovelers. Photo by Jessica Kirkpatrick on Unsplash.
Male Redhead. Photo by Merih Tasli on Unsplash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male Hooded Merganser. Photo by Paul Crook on Unsplash.

 

Bonaparte’s Gull in winter/nonbreeding plumage. Three traits help me separate this from the much more common Laughing Gull. First – that black spot behind the eye. The Laughing Gull has some speckles of black feathers, but nothing like this spot. Second is size – The Laughing Gull is a small gull, but at about 16″, it is still larger than the even smaller Bonaparte’s who is about 13 inches. And last – where am I? Laughing Gulls are rarely away from the Gulf and Atlantic coasts – truly an ocean and beach gull. Bonaparte’s Gull might be found near a beach, but is much more likely to be seen at freshwater. Wheeler’s water is fresh.  Photo by Matt Bango on Unsplash.

But this is not all there is.  Across the state highway from the Visitors’ Center, these blinds, and the viewing building is another area with a large pond/small lake.  We saw about a hundred American White Pelicans, a dozen Great Egrets, several Great Blue Herons, Ring-billed Gulls, and many Killdeer.  But the best sighting for me was a small flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls.  So buoyant when they fly – reminds me of terns!

Male Gadwall. Photo by Meenakshi Bose on Unsplash.

Up the road about half a mile and on the same side of the highway as the Visitors’ Center is a pull-off to another large pond/small lake and we saw Gadwalls.  Dozens and dozens of Gadwalls.  I have never seen this many Gadwalls all together in one spot.  What a sight!  Every duck you see in this short video is a Gadwall!  And I suggest you keep your volume off.  This pull-off is close to the state highway so there is much traffic noise.  And this is a subject for a future blog – noise pollution!  Click here for the video:  Gadwalls

And still not finished.  Wheeler sprawls out over 35,000 acres.  You can obtain a map at the Visitors’ Center and assistance as to where to go and what you might see.  This refuge is a haven for waterfowl and cranes, and the refuge manages and protects habitats for 13 federally listed and endangered or threatened species – including the endangered Whooping Crane.  The habitats within this refuge are diverse.  Quoting from their brochure:  “Bottomland hardwoods, wetlands, pine uplands, shoreline or riparian woodlands, agricultural fields, and back water embayments.”  We asked for advice at the Visitor’s Center, and they could not have been more helpful or friendly.  We got good driving instructions to a trail plus had a wonderful conversation with several people working behind the desk – all filled with laughter.  The experience could not have been better.  And that is another thing I love about this refuge. Whether you are dealing with someone who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services – who oversees all these refuges – or a volunteer, everyone is always knowledgeable about the entire refuge and what you might see.  They are friendly and accommodating.  Right away you know they all love their jobs and want you to have a great experience.  Not all wildlife refuges have such friendly, talented, and knowledgeable staff and volunteers.  Sometimes there is no one around to answer questions and sometimes it is just a volunteer to man the desk and all the person can do is give you a brochure or direct you to the facilities.  But Wheeler is different.  Very different.  These folks KNOW!

It was explained to us there might not be a great many songbirds on the trails this time of year, but we were directed to the Beaverdam Swamp Boardwalk Trail.  The parking area for the trail was just on the other side of the guardrail for I-565 so as you can imagine, the first part of this 1-mile trail was noisy.  But once we were about 100 yards down the trail, the noise of the interstate receded until we did not hear anything at all.  This trail is flat and well maintained.  The first part has a surface of crushed granite which leads to the boardwalk.  The boardwalk trail winds its way through the swamp until it ends at a viewing area at a stream.  The trees are mostly black tupelo – beautiful trunks and bark.

The boardwalk trail winds through a black tupelo woodland swamp. This is always good birding habitat, and we were not disappointed – even though it was a cloudy winter day and we were there in mid-afternoon.
A view of one of the water areas in this wooded swamp.
There is a small viewing platform at the end of this 1-mile trail. A good view of a black tupelo swamp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birds seen and heard on this boardwalk trail:
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Brown Creeper

Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warblers
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Phoebe

Chipping Sparrows
White-throated Sparrows – brown and tan morph – both of these sparrows were seen at the edge of this habitat where it was much drier and shrubbier

Bewick’s Wren
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren

Photos of the less common of these songbirds:

Brown Creeper. Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash.
Golden-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolina Wren. Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash.
Bewick’s Wren. The Carolina and Bewick’s Wrens look quite similar.  The Bewick’s Wren is generally more gray – especially the breast.  Not as cinnamon as the Carolina.  But this color difference is subtle – it is exaggerated in these two photos.  In my opinion, the Carolina has a real ‘bugle’ call – you will notice!  The Bewick does not.  Quieter and more buzzy.  They do share range and habitat in northern Alabama in winter – here at Wheeler – but generally their ranges are separate.  Check the range map for each bird in your field guide.  Photo by Anish Lakkapragada on Unsplash.
Winter Wren. I love this tiny very chubby bird! It is “Uncommon’ and I have rarely seen one, but I saw one on this trail – and right where I always find them. Flitting all around a damp, fallen trunk of a tree. This is the best place to look for these little cuties. In wet woodlands, close to the ground and especially around fallen logs or tangles of plants. You will just love those straight-up, stiff little tails. Very wren! Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the entire refuge, this was the count for ONE DAY in mid-December for ducks, geese, and cranes:

Ducks: 14,293
Geese: 1628

Sandhill Cranes: 10,497
Whooping Cranes: 10
Wow!

If you live near northern Alabama or are looking to get away for a weekend, consider booking a trip to either Decatur or Huntsville, AL.  Both have good places to stay and great restaurants – always a must when birding far from home!  January 9-11 of 2026 – two weekends from now – Wheeler is having their Festival of Cranes.  Two great days of crane watching plus wonderful speakers and activities are planned.  Here is a sample:

Anne Lacey – Building Blocks of Crane Behavior

Paul Bannick – Woodpecker:  A Year in the Lives of North American Woodpeckers

Amber Coger – 2 separate talks:  Cranes can dance? and Delicate Dancers and Fierce fighters:  The Natural History of Cranes

Jessie Taylor – Crane habitats

Jimmy Stiles – Live herpetology Presentation

Wings to Soar – A Live Raptor show

Michael Forsberg – 2 separate talks:  Into Whooperland – A Photographer’s Journey, and Workshop: Writing with Light

Tracy Roberts McCann – Painting workshop (there will be a charge for this)

Timothy Joe – Mini Watercolor Journal Workshop (there will be a charge for this)

Dr. Lauren McGough – 2 separate talks:  The Albatross of Midway Atoll and How to Befriend an Eagle

Dr. Andy Caven – An issue of scale

Donald Hood – Photography Tips

And this is not all – there is so much more!  Call for more information at 256-350-6639.  And if you are unable to get to this festival, mark your calendars for January of 2027!  For your GPS:  3121 Visitor Center Road, Decatur, AL – this will take you right to the Visitor’s Center parking lot.

 

I love whiteboards or binders in wildlife refuges. Where people can list what they see. This whiteboard was on an easel right inside the front door of the Visitor’s Center – very convenient. Some refuges have done away with this – reason is eBird. But when I am at a wildlife refuge, the last thing I want to be is on my cell phone or any electronic device or screen. I want to get away from all that! Thank you, Wheeler, for not bowing to the pressure of always using technology!

Here is our complete list for a wonderful day at Wheeler!

Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane

Snow Geese
Greater White-fronted Geese
Canada Geese

Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Mallards
Gadwalls
Redhead
Hooded Mergansers

 

Great Egret
American White Pelicans
Great Blue Heron
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gulls
Bonaparte’s Gull
Killdeer

Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warblers
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Phoebe

Chipping Sparrows
White-throated Sparrow – brown and tan morph

Bewick’s Wren
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren

Northern Flicker
Brown Creeper
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker

This was just a perfect day!