Cortney Weatherby, Coastal Outreach Manager for Alabama Audubon

Cortney Weatherby is our guest on the Outdoor Adventure Series today.

Cortney is the Coastal Outreach Manager for Alabama Audubon. 

She is an environmental educator and conservationist. She loves spending time outdoors in various capacities: birding, fly fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, or diving when the opportunity arises.

Questions We Discussed

1. What threats do beach-nesting birds face?
2. How can people help these birds when they visit the beach?
3. Why would you recommend people get into birding?

Aha Moment(s)

Two stories ---- 

Cortney led a bird walk for about 20 people, and during the hour and a half walk, they saw birds that most birders would consider common, but many of these people might have seen some of those birds before but not necessarily known what they were. It was a super fun and engaged group, and they had some birds really cooperate and stay in view long enough to point out identifying features.

Cortney gave a program about beach-nesting birds and how to help them to a group of third and fifth-graders at a local school before Christmas. At the conclusion, when she was answering questions they had, one of them asked me what college degree they would need to work for Alabama Audubon, and another asked that even though they are young if there was a way for them to help the birds nest on the beach.

InSight2Go

I want to leave with an easy reminder of how to help these birds when people visit the beautiful sugar sand beaches of Alabama. If you head to a beach or island that has active bird nesting on the beach, remember two sayings: 

1. Fish, swim, and play from 50 yards away. Giving these birds space makes a huge difference. 
2. If the birds are squawking, keep on walking! A lot of people ask us how close to the birds is too close...If the birds start to shuffle around and start making noise at you, you know you are too close!

MEDIA

https://www.outdooralabama.com/articles/alabama-conservation-birds.

LEARN MORE

Thank you to the Alabama Audubon funders, the Alabama Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources, the AL Trustee Implementation Group (TIG), the National Audubon Society, and the USFWS, who allow the Alabama Audubon to keep doing this important work on the Alabama coast. And to all of their partners who allow them to conduct surveys and monitoring on their property and are working to help preserve the AL gulf coast. Anyone who lives in Alabama and is interested in learning more about the programs offered or volunteer opportunities, please visit their website at www.alaudubon.org.

You can also visit the Alabama AuDubon on these social sites:

Facebook - www.facebook.com/alaudubon

Instagram - www.instagram.com/alaudubon/

Click here if there is anyone out there who is interested in learning more about how to ID birds but doesn’t know where to start; download the Merlin Bird ID app.

To begin planning your beach vacation, getaway, or outing, visit the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism website at https://www.gulfshores.com/.

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