The Year of Alabama Birding has begun!

Tourists have long flocked to Alabama to glimpse some of the more than 430 species of birds that can be spotted in the state. Now, the Alabama Tourism Department is enhancing this experience by launching the Year of Alabama Birding to increase awareness of this popular pastime.

There are a multitude of initiatives and promotions planned for the year, according to a story in the Alabama News Center, including:

• An eight-page section in the 2023 Alabama Vacation Guide featuring the top birding trails and events in Alabama.

• Visitors will hear birdsongs at each of the eight Alabama Welcome Centers across the state.

• A “find your flock” quiz will appear on Tourism’s website.

• Tourism is working with Alabama Audubon member Chris Oberholster to explore creating a festival event around the Coastal Bird Banding Initiative.

• Well-known artist Daniel Cosgrove has been commissioned to create a poster featuring the state bird, the Alabama yellowhammer.

But Tourism Director Lee Sentell says this is more than a 2023 project, saying that they will launch components of it during the next two years, and that its impact will carry on beyond that.