Alabama Audubon has partnered with Jefferson County Greenways for a continent-wide effort in bird research known as MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship). The program utilizes standardized, constant-effort mist netting and banding of birds during the breeding season and provides annual indices of adult population size and post-fledgling productivity. Our station is located near the Wetlands on Ruffner Mountain and operates regularly during the summer months of May through August. We are also banding birds around the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center once per month during the other months of the year to gain further insight into migratory and winter resident birds. See our Event & Program Calendar for special invites to these bird-banding events.
In 2017, bat gates were installed by the Alabama Office of Abandoned Mining Land Reclamation over the entrances of two abandoned iron ore slope mines on Ruffner Mountain. The gates allow free movement of bats in and out of these hazardous abandoned mines while impeding unauthorized access from people.
These mines host one of the most significant hibernacula for tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) every winter. This once-common species has been decimated throughout its range in just a few short years due to the fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS). WNS was first detected in Jefferson County at Ruffner Mountain in 2017. Regular surveys and monitoring efforts of this disease and the bat population are ongoing.
We are pleased to report that the endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens) and Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) have also been observed foraging along Turkey Creek.
What is White-nose Syndrome?
White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or pd. It manifests as a white "blight" on the muzzles and wings of hibernating bats and was first documented in New York state in 2006-2007. This disease is so potentially devastating because of the way it affects the hibernation patterns of native bat populations, causing them to come out of hibernation early, thereby depleting precious energy resources. Oftentimes, these bats will fly during the day or gather around the entrances to hibernacula (their hibernation grounds, usually caves)—both highly unusual behaviors. Due to this lack of energy and inability to find food, affected bats are often found sick or dying near their hibernacula. Laboratories and scientists across the country are currently investigating the transmission and fungal dynamics of white-nose syndrome and attempting to mitigate its effects.
Will McCollum, an anthropology PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, conducts historical and archaeological research in Birmingham, Alabama, where he examines late nineteenth-century mining camps and company towns that formed the basis for the growth and development of the industrial capital of the “New” South at the turn of the twentieth century.
For his dissertation project, Will excavated at Smythe, a majority-Black iron ore mining camp, the ruins now in Red Mountain Park. The site was occupied from roughly 1890 to 1920 and marks an important transitional moment from racialized Antebellum labor structures to a consolidated, racialized, urban industrial system in the South. Will excavated seven units and is currently analyzing the recovered artifacts in the lab. He plans to defend his dissertation in December 2025. Will has presented his findings at several national conferences and has plans to publish his research at Smythe in leading archaeology journals.