Fort Toulouse National Historic Park, Jackson Island and Confederate Memorial Park October 20, 2012 - 7 a.m. Our day will start with a visit to Fort Toulouse National Historical Park, which is located where the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers meet to form the Alabama River near Wetumpka. We will explore the many features of the park including a Mississippian Native American mound site and the William Bartram arboretum with its boardwalk path. The surrounding woods often contain sparrows, winter wrens, hermit thrush and blue-headed vireo at this time of year. Fall migrants may be present between the woods and the park’s open fields. Please note that there is a $2:00 admission fee per adult for the park. Additional information about the park may be found at www.forttoulouse.com. Next on our itinerary is a stop at Jackson Island near Montgomery. The hedge rows along Jackson Lake Road could present us with an opportunity to see various sparrow species such as savannah, white-throated, fox and field. This same road also passes through a small patch of pine woods where we hope to encounter brown-headed nuthatches and pine warblers. Other potential sightings may include double-crested cormorants, redheaded woodpeckers and loggerhead shrike. There may also be a small entrance fee to this site, but this could not be confirmed by press time. Finally, we will travel to Confederate Memorial Park in Chilton County. The park’s nature trail and cemeteries could yield up some interesting feathered friends. Travel Plans: We will meet at the Hoover McDonalds on US-31 across from the Riverchase Galleria Mall (1731 Montgomery Hwy Hoover, AL 35244). Plan to arrive early in order to have breakfast, if desired. Please consider carpooling for the trip. Leaving at 7:00 a.m., we will proceed on I-459 to I-65 South towards Montgomery to exit 173 Northern Blvd [Hwy-152] east to US-231 North. Then we will travel approximately 8 ½ miles, passing a Key West Inn on left, to a right turn onto Fort Toulouse Road. It is then another 2 ½ miles to the entrance to the park. This is a full day trip, so bring a lunch, snacks, and drinks and have a full tank of gas. We look forward to spending the day with you. Trip Leader: Susan Barrow 942-8667[h] 253-8667[c]. Please call if you have any questions or if you'd like to meet us there.