Alabama

Alabama’s Black Belt Birding Festival kicks off August 2

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2024

Alabama’s Black Belt Birding Festival kicks off August 2

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Happening Aug. 2 to 4, the fourth annual Black Belt Birding Festival will take wing throughout Alabama.

Highlighting the birds, history and heritage of Alabama’s Black Belt region, the festival offers many opportunities to birdwatch with others and enjoy the natural environment.

In total, 18 different events are planned within the three-day event. Scheduled plans may be changed or canceled in the case of inclement weather. Attendees must fill out a registration and liability waiver before an event, which can be found by clicking here.

EVENTS

KICK-OFF PARTY AND VENDOR EXPO
Aug. 2, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Happening at Greensboro’s Project Horseshoe Farm, a free kick-off party will be held to celebrate the start of the festival featuring live Blues music by artists, archivists and founders of the Alabama Blues Project and a vendor expo.

MORNING EVENTS

PERRY LAKES PARK, MARION
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
PAYNE LAKE RECREATION AREA, MOUNDVILLE
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
OLD CAHAWBA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK, ORRVILLE
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $35
M. BARNETT LAWLEY FOREVER WILD FIELD TRIAL AREA, GREENSBORO
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Cost: $30
SELMA: BIRD WALK ON THE HISTORIC EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Cost: $30
SUMTER FARM MORNING BIRDING TOUR, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
DRIVING TOUR: SIGNATURE BLACK BELT BIRDS (Greensboro Opera House)
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
SELMA: BIRD WALK IN HISTORIC OLD LIVE OAK CEMETERY
- Aug. 3, 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Cost $30
THE JOE FARM, NEWBERN
- Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to noon. Cost: $40
SUMTER FARM BIRDS AND WILDFLOWERS WALL, GEIGER
- Aug. 4, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30

AFTERNOON EVENTS

BIRDS OF PREY WITH ALABAMA WILDLIFE CENTER (Alabama Audubon’s Greensboro office)
- Aug. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: DR. DWAYNE ESTES (Greensboro Opera House)
- Aug. 3, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost: $15

EVENING EVENTS

PRAIRIE RESTORATION AT CONTENTMENT, GREENSBORO
- Aug. 3, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Cost: $30
BARTON’S BEACH AND ENDANGERED SPECIES TOUR, MARION
- Aug. 3, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Cost: $30
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS & LONGLEAF PINE FIRE ECOLOGY, MOUNDVILLE
- Aug. 3, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cost: $30
SUMTER FARM PRAIRIE RESTORATION TOUR, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 4:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cost: $30
OWL PROWL AT SUMTER FARM, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost: $30

For more information, click here to visit the full schedule on the Alabama Audubon’s website.

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Alabama

Alabama basketball trainer salaries revealed after injury-filled season

Published

2 hours ago

May 4, 2026

Press Room

Alabama basketball trainer salaries revealed after injury-filled season

The 2025-26 Alabama men’s basketball season was marked by numerous player injuries.
The article details the salaries of the team’s athletic training and conditioning staff.

Alabama basketball’s 2025-26 season was one of the most injury-filled years that Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats has experienced in Tuscaloosa.

The health of last year’s Alabama team was a storyline before exhibition play even began. Veteran Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was returning amid recovery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Transfer guard Jalil Bethea joined the bench after a left foot injury. Collins Onyejiaka and Davion Hannah both spent the majority of their freshman seasons sidelined with medical conditions. Down the stretch, Taylor Bol Bowen played with a fractured hand. Amari Allen, Aden Holloway, London Jemison and Aiden Sherrell all dealt with tweaks and dings.

As the Crimson Tide’s Sweet 16 run came to a close, even Labaron Philon revealed that his injury wasn’t limited to December or January. He played hurt for the entire year.

With the only Alabama player to appear in each game being Houston Mallette, who redshirted his first year with the program, the training room was busy for athletic training and conditioning staffers Clarke Holter, Henry Barrera and Amanda Branson.

Here’s a breakdown of the salaries for the trio who worked behind the scenes to make another NCAA Tournament possible, per information acquired by The Tuscaloosa News from an open records request to the University of Alabama.

What are salaries of Alabama men’s basketball training staff?

Holter has served as athletic trainer for the men’s basketball team for 11 seasons. Barrera has been the program’s strength and conditioning coach since 2022.

Holter received a salary increase in July 2025, making his new annual salary $139,050.

Barrera also received a pay increase in July 2025. He is the highest-paid of the three at $257,500.20 annually.

The exact date of Branson’s hire is unknown. However, public UA payroll data for Branson dates back to 2019.

Branson’s increase letter ahead of the 2025-26 season said that she would be paid $128,750.16.

In a season defined by injuries, their work became as critical as anything that happened on the court.

Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@usatodayco.com.

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Alabama

New interactive Gopher Tortoise exhibit coming to Alabama Nature Center

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2026

Press Room

New interactive Gopher Tortoise exhibit coming to Alabama Nature Center

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – The Alabama Wildlife Federation and Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama are building a new interactive Gopher Tortoise Habitat Display to give Alabamians a chance to immerse themselves in the state’s longleaf pine ecosystem.

The exhibit, which is being funded by a $50,000 HMMA investment, will be located in the NaturePlex at the Alabama Nature Center.

The exhibit spotlights the gopher tortoise as a keystone species in Alabama, showing how its burrows shelter other wildlife.

Interactive Gopher Habitat Display(Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama)

It will feature interactive, age-appropriate elements to teach habitat conservation and responsible stewardship of Alabama’s natural resources.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

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Alabama

A quick history of the University of Alabama for commencement weekend

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2026

Press Room

A quick history of the University of Alabama for commencement weekend

With students and families on campus this weekend for spring 2026 graduation, here’s a rundown of University of Alabama campus history that originally published Nov. 14, 2025.

1820

● The Alabama General Assembly officially established the first public university and named it the University of the State of Alabama. By the 1860s, the school was called the University of Alabama.

1831

● Harvard graduate and Vermont native Alva Woods became the first president of the University of Alabama. First day of classes was held on April 18 with four professors and 52 students. By the end of the term there were nearly 100 students.

1841

● The President’s Mansion was built.

1860

● The Round House was built for the use of the student sentinels.

1865

● All but a few buildings — the President’s Mansion, the observatory, the Round House, the Gorgas House and a few faculty residences — were burned by Union troops.

1892

● Student William G. Little introduced his fellow UA students to the sport of football.

1893

● Anna B. Adams and Bessie Parker became the first women to enroll at the university.

1914

● The first Tutwiler Hall was built on the site of today’s Rose Administration Building. It was the first building exclusively for women.

1915

● The University of Alabama Student Government Association was founded.

1926

● The Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the Rose Bowl, becoming national champions for the first time.

1929

● Denny Chimes, funded in part by student donations, was dedicated in honor of beloved UA President George H. Denny. UA also opens Denny Stadium.

1939

● Construction on the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library was completed.

1956

● The first Black student enrolled. Autherine Lucy attended classes for three days before being removed from campus and then expelled.

1963

● The university was officially desegregated when Vivian Malone and James Hood enrolled. Gov. George Wallace made good on a threat to “stand in the schoolhouse door” to stop them, but his actions were symbolic and did not stop their enrollment.

1975

● The on-campus football stadium is renamed Bryant-Denny Stadium to honor legendary football coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant.

1980

● UA’s 1979 squad wins the Sugar Bowl, giving Bryant back-to-back national championships. The 1979 championship was also the sixth and final title of Bryant’s career.

2011

● On April 27, 2011, a tornado destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, and six students lost their lives.

2013

● Judy Bonner becomes the university’s first female president.

2016

● The university’s strategic plan, Advancing the Flagship, was unveiled.

2019

● The university achieved R1: Very High Research Activity status, according to the Carnegie Classification.

2020

● The COVID-19 pandemic caused spring classes to be moved online. In-person classes resumed by the fall semester.

● UA wins its 18th national championship in football.

2022

Julia Tutwiler Hall, the 13-story dorm near Bryant-Denny Stadium, was demolished just after 7 a.m. on July 4. UA built a new Tutwiler Hall, just a few yards to the west of the old Tut.

2024

● The Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center, an immersive and engaging visitor center named in honor of longtime University supporters, opened in the restored and reimagined historic Bryce Main.

● The football arena is renamed Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium to honor retired coach Nick Saban. Saban earned six national championships during his 17-year career at the Capstone.