Meet the 2026 Alabama Audubon Bird of the Year
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The third annual Alabama Audubon Bird of the Year Fundraiser took place on February 1st at Back Forty Beer Company in downtown Birmingham, where the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was revealed as the winner!
Keep reading to learn more about Alabama Audubon’s Bird of the Year + why it matters.
Birding enthusiast come together to recognize a standout species
Bird of the Year is Alabama Audubon’s way of spotlighting a native bird that benefits directly from their conservation work. All year long, it’ll take center stage in outreach and education programs.
Each year, the winning bird is brought to life through an original piece of artwork. For 2026, that honor goes to Val Webb, an artist with 25 years of experience carving and painting birds, insects and botanicals into stunning bas-relief clay murals for homes and businesses across the South.
Additionally, The Avian Ally Award honors a person or organization that goes above and beyond to protect Alabama’s birds each year. This year’s award went to Elise Smith, who has turned her small space in Greensboro into a welcoming haven for bird species facing population declines. She also opens her land during the Black Belt Birding Festival, inviting people in to see the habitat up close and learn more about the restoration work behind it.
One of the Black Belt’s most striking birds: The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
In Alabama’s Black Belt Region, Alabama Audubon has made positive economic and environmental progress through its Black Belt Birding Initiative, using bird-based ecotourism to support one of the nation’s most economically challenged rural areas.
The 2026 Bird of the Year, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, is one of the most iconic birds of North American prairies, including those in Alabama’s Black Belt. Unfortunately, the species is in steep decline across nearly its entire range, reflecting the broader loss of grassland birds, which are disappearing faster than any other group in the U.S. The Black Belt is home to one of just six isolated populations in North America.
Held each year in Greensboro, Alabama, the Black Belt Birding Festival takes place on the first weekend in August. The festival celebrates the region’s birds, history and heritage, offering visitors a unique chance to see a wide variety of bird species in their natural habitats.
“As the Southeast’s largest prairie ecosystem, the Black Belt is unique unto itself. There is nowhere else you can find Wood Storks and Swallow-tailed Kites alongside Dickcissels and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. We are committed to fostering connections in the region so that more people, from all over, have the opportunity to experience this extraordinary place.”
R. Scot Duncan, Executive Director of Alabama Audubon
When you support Alabama Audubon, you also support:
- Alabama Coastal Birdfest (April 23-26)
- Banding studies
- Birding for beginner courses
- Coastal Stewardship
- Project Safe Flight ( prevents bird window strikes)
- Travel opportunities
- Walter F. Coxe Research Grants
+More!
What do you think of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher being named 2026 Bird of the Year? Let us know on Facebook & Instagram
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