Directions: TVA's Wilson Dam crosses the Tennessee River between Florence and Muscle Shoals, AL. The Wilson Dam Visitor Center is on the Muscle Shoals side of the river at the dam's southern end. The kiosk at the visitor center will orient and guide visitors to nearby trails and sites available for birding.
Description: This site is where TVA's hydroelectric dam impounds the 15,500-acre Wilson Reservoir. This was the first dam constructed on the Tennessee River in Alabama. Construction began on the dam in 1918, was completed in 1924, and aquired by TVA in 1933. Together with Pickwick and Wheeler reservoirs, this dam made the treacherous Muscle Shoals navigable for river trade and transport. As with the other dams in northern Alabama, this site is excellent for gulls, as thousands of Ring-billed, Herring, and Bonaparte's gulls are found regularly. Birders should study these gulls carefully and look for a surprise or two such as a Laughing or Great Black-backed gull, or even a Black-legged Kittiwake. In late summer, scan the wooded islands for Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons amongst the more common Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets.
Site 6 Access: Free
GPS Coordinates: N 34.7934, W 87.6262
Contact: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
TVA, SB 1H, P.O. Box 1010
Muscle Shoals, AL 35662-1010
Phone: (256) 386-2543 |
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