Choccolocco Park Blog

Choccolocco Park played host to the grand finale of the inaugural SkyTrail Festival organized by Visit Calhoun County on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

The free outdoor adventure gave bird enthusiasts the opportunity to explore the park’s wooded perimeter and the more than 200 species of birds which find their way to the Oxford site along the Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail.

Dr. Tim Lindblom of Jacksonville State was one of the experts who led the morning’s guided tours along the trail.

“This trail is important for a lot of reasons, one of those being quality of life issues,” Lindblom said. “This gives people the opportunity to commune with nature, disconnect from everything else, and engage their brains.”

“Trails also demonstrate to the rest of the world that life is really good here,” he added. “We can invest in trails to make this a good place to live and work. We have enough opportunity here to have a good standard of living that we can also have trails. I think that’s also important for the economy of our region.”

Lindblom said Calhoun County is located in a “flyway,” a route regularly used by migrating birds, and that Choccolocco Park offers numerous habitats that are very attractive to birds, making the local trail even more appealing to bird watchers.

Registrants were able to use bird identifier apps as well as have fun utilizing a bingo card with pictures of the species known to visit Choccolocco Park.

Birds seen on the hike:
Eastern Wood Pewees
Red-shouldered hawk
Bluejays
Eastern Bluebirds
Yellow-billed cuckoo
Mallards
Yellow-throated vireo
American redstart 
Common grackles
Eastern phoebes 
Northern cardinal
Northern flicker
Rock Pigeon
Canada Geese
Turkey Vulture
Fish Crow

Birds heard on the hike:
Pileated woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker