Gaillard Island

Article & Images by Jeffrey C. Howe

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The Mobile Bay Estuarine Drainage in Southern Alabama is truly a remarkable body of water. It is estimated that the entire estuarine drainage is 39,725 square miles with a surface area estimated at 500 square miles. It is not until one crosses the Bay along Interstate 10 or when one attempts to outrun an impending storm by boat from the middle of the Bay, that one fully appreciates the Bay’s magnitude and size.

The Birth of an Island

In 1979, an island was created from the silty sand removed to create a ship channel between Mobile Bay and Theodore Industrial Park. Although the dredge spoil island was opposed by environmentalists, Dr. M. Wilson Gaillard, a Mobile physician and respected conservationist, envisioned the island as a nesting haven for both shore and seabirds. By 1981, when the initial construction of the island was completed, birds were already visiting the island. Although locals affectionately refer to the island as Pelican Island, it was officially named for Dr. Gaillard.

Gaillard Island is located two miles east of Theodore Industrial Park and approximately ten miles south of downtown Mobile. The 1,300–acre island is triangle shaped and initially had a 35–acre planted marsh located along the northwest dike. Today, most of the marsh has washed away. The Island’s dikes, especially the east and south dikes are exposed to high wave and wind energies owing to long wind fetches and ship/barge wakes. To protect these dikes, the east and most of the south dikes have been riprapped with stone. In addition, planting was conducted behind floating tire breakwaters on the northwest dike, and plant rolls and erosion control matting have been utilized. Upon completion of the Island, numerous species of vegetation colonized different areas over the past decade. Saltmeadow cordgrass, saltmarsh bulrush, salt marsh cattail, and American threesquare naturally colonized behind berms, while several other species established themselves in the marsh. Smooth cordgrass was the only species that was planted. Lastly, the upland areas were seeded with different species of grasses and planted with a variety of both native and exotic trees. Only a few tree species have survived over time. It wasn’t until the early 1980’s when some of the vegetation had reached successional stages that wading birds were observed on the Island.

In 1983, biologists discovered four brown pelicans nesting on Gaillard Island. At the time, this was a remarkable discovery because it marked the first nesting of this species in Alabama. Early in this century, the abundance of brown pelicans declined significantly due to hunting. The feathers from pelicans were used in women’s hats. Although laws were later passed protecting the pelican and other species from the plumage trade, another threat in the 1940’s was to have devastating effects. The wide spread use of the pesticide DDT decimated the local population up until 1957. Eventually ornithologists determined that DDT contaminated fish eaten by pelicans were responsible for producing very thin–shelled eggs. Although the brown pelican was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1970, it wasn’t until 1972 when DDT was banned that the brown pelican population saw a resurgence. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the population steadily increased and by 1985, the brown pelican had recovered so well, impart due to Gaillard Island, that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped the species from the state’s endangered species list. In May 1994, a record 2,399 nests were recorded on Gaillard Island. Over the next four years this number would almost double. In the spring of 1998, Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, announced that the brown pelican along with 28 other species of plants and animals had recovered enough to be eliminated from the Endangered Species List.

Aside from the brown pelican, Gaillard Island is very important to thousands of birds representing 15 different species of skimmers, stilts, terns, pelicans, egrets, herons, ducks, and rails that take refuge or nest along the six miles of coastline offered by the Island. Gaillard Island is the only Alabama nesting site for caspian terns, sandwich terns, royal terns, and laughing gulls. In fact, the first recorded nesting of herring gulls occurred on Gaillard Island in 1986. In all, well over 10,000 nests have been recorded or estimated during the 1997 and 1998 surveys. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has conducted annual surveys of the colonial nesting seabirds on Gaillard Island since 1988.

To date, the only threat to the Island and its inhabitants has been Mother Nature. Hurricane Danny and Georges which hit the Mobile area in 1997 and 1998, respectively, did considerable damage. Wind and torrential rains leveled up to 70% of the dike on the east side and significant damage was sustained along the south side. Although the dike is currently being rebuilt, the nesting birds appear unaffected as they have simply relocated their nesting sites to the north side.

With such a great diversity and abundance of birds that nest and visit Gaillard Island, it provides great opportunities for the nature photographer. However, due to the importance of the Island to nesting birds, trespassing is prohibited, although it is difficult to enforce. Fortunately, those that do visit the Island by jet ski or pleasure boat rarely go beyond the beach. The safest and least intrusive way of visiting the Island is to volunteer your assistance with state biologists. Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to assist Roger Clay, a biologist with the Alabama Game and Fish Division, in conducting surveys of nesting terns. The best months to visit the Island and observe the most activity are May and June. In exchange for my assistance, Roger has allowed me to photograph some of the nesting birds. With his experience and knowledge of the Island, I was better equipped to hike through the Island with the intent of being as non–intrusive as possible. You’d be amazed how cryptic some of the gull and tern eggs are in their natural habitat.

My trips to Gaillard Island have always taken place in the cooler, early morning hours. This way, if the adults leave the nests for a short time due to our presence, the eggs or fledglings are not exposed to extreme temperatures, which could have fatal consequences. Due to the time restraints associated with my visits, I keep my equipment to a minimum. With a 100–300mm f4 lens secured to my tripod and the rest of my equipment in a small hip bag, I have the freedom to move around quickly. The 100–300mm zoom is perfect for getting those tight shots of adults, nests, and fledglings without disturbing them. With the more skittish species (e.g. egrets) a longer lens or a 1.5x or 2x teleconverter is advantageous. Owing to the early morning light, I almost always use a single TTL flash set at -2/3 EV in order to fill in any shadows and for producing the catch lights in the eyes. For macro photography, I use a 60 mm macro lens set at f16 with two TTL flashes set at -2/3 EV with one mounted on each side of the lens using a homemade flash bracket. Because I don’t own a long (100–200mm range) macro lens, in those situations where I need a greater working distance between myself and my subject, I will occasionally use an extension tube and a 1.5X teleconverter with my 100–300 zoom. Under all shooting conditions, I use 100 ISO slide film which produces very sharp images.

Aside from the photography equipment, you need to prepare yourself against the elements with the months of May and June usually being rather hot and humid. Aside from proper clothing which should include long pants, a hat, hiking boots, sunscreen, water, and a small hand towel (with such an abundance of birds flying overhead you never know what the guano will hit), be prepared for sudden changes in weather. It never ceases to amaze me how rapid the weather can change along Mobile Bay. In a moment’s notice, storms packing heavy rainfall and high winds can be upon you. Therefore, it would be wise to pack rain gear for yourself and several large plastic bags for your camera bag(s). All of my trips to Gaillard Island have been very rewarding and I’ve been able to capture some truly remarkable images.

At the time of its construction, no one could have conceived just how important Gaillard Island was to become as a wintering, migration, and nesting area for seabirds. In view of this, the Island is managed with nesting seabirds in mind by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Alabama State Docks which owns the island. Although Gaillard Island was constructed with a life expectancy of approximately 40 years, it would appear that if the Island is managed properly it will continue to be an important habitat for Alabama’s seabirds for generations.

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