The Sanctuary consists of 164 acres of maritime forest, marshes, and dunes, including a lake, a swamp and a beach. It is located at the Eastern end of
Dauphin Island, a 14 mile-long barrier island situated off the Alabama Gulf coast. The Sanctuary is of vital importance because it is the largest segment of protected forest on the island and the first landfall for neotropical migrant birds after their long flight across the Gulf from Central and South America each spring. Here these birds, often exhausted and weakened from severe weather during the long flight, find their first food and shelter. It is also their final feeding and resting place before their return flight each fall.
