A Weekend of Wildlife Watching and Family Fun!
The 2020 Fins, Feathers and Flowers Weekend at Lakepoint Resort State Park is scheduled for February 21-23. Similar to the Eagle Awareness Weekends held at Lake Guntersville, the event offers a variety of activities for wildlife watchers, birders and those wanting to learn more about Alabama’s plants and animals. The weekend is a cooperative effort of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) State Parks Division and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The park is located near Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge in Eufaula, Alabama.
“This year there will be expanded field trip offerings, basic fishing instruction, boat tours of Lake Eufaula and falconry demos,” said Tasha Simon, Natural Resources Planner for the Alabama State Parks Division. “This event is a great introduction to the abundance of wildlife and outdoor recreational opportunities available at Lakepoint State Park, Lake Eufaula and the national wildlife refuge. We invite anyone who is interested in the outdoors to attend.”
Fins, Feathers and Flowers 2020 begins Friday afternoon with a Conservation Fair prior to the evening social, welcome session and field trip sign-ups. Conservation Fair attendees will have the opportunity to meet representatives from Alabama Audubon, biologists from ADCNR’s Fisheries Section, and the Museum of Natural History at Auburn University. There will also be a live bird presentation featuring a Harris’s hawk. Friday evening, Morgan Beadles, Director of the Auburn University Davis Arboretum, will present a program entitled “Nature’s Bounty: Attracting Birds with Native Plants.”
Saturday morning begins with a field trip to the Houston Unit of the wildlife refuge followed by breakfast at the lodge. Several birding and wildlife watching opportunities within the park and refuge are also planned throughout the day. Saturday evening keynote speaker Mark Wetzel will speak about conservation and falconry in Alabama. Sunday events include a field trip to the Wehle Land Conservation Center in Midway, Alabama. A boxed lunch will be provided that day.
Dr. Karl Hackenbrack, Associate Dean and Director of Accountancy at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, attended Fins, Feathers and Flowers in 2018, and said the event featured excellent nature programming with a nice mix of lectures and field trips.
“The schedule flowed well, and the staff could not have been more accessible, knowledgeable and enthusiastic,” Dr. Hackenbrack said. “And, the facilities and staff far exceeded expectations. Because of our experience in 2018 we’ll be attending this year’s event as well.”
Lakepoint State Park is offering a Fins, Feathers and Flowers overnight package that includes lodging for three days and two nights and attendance at the social, dinner, breakfast, lectures, field trips and other presentations. For more information and reservations, call (334) 687-8011 or visit www.alapark.com/lakepoint-state-park.
The Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge is an ideal viewing location for ducks, geese, water birds, shorebirds, songbirds, small mammals, and a variety of other wildlife species including the American alligator. The refuge was created to provide feeding and resting habitat for waterfowl migrating through the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast. To learn more about the refuge, visit www.fws.gov/refuge/Eufaula.
The Alabama State Parks Division relies on visitor fees and the support of other partners like local communities to fund the majority of their operations. To learn more about Alabama State Parks, visit www.alapark.com
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