Gaillard Island - Ecosystem

Ecosystem

Various birds were noted to be inhabiting the island by the time it was completed in 1981. In 1983 a biologist discovered four brown pelicans nesting on the island. This was the first sighting in Alabama since their decline due to hunting in the early 1900s. Pelican feathers, in that era, were used for women’s hats. Further decline came in the 1940s due to the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. At that time, they were placed on both the Alabama and federal endangered species list. Partly due to increased nesting and propagation of the brown pelicans on Gaillard Island, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped the species from the state’s endangered species list, and in 1998, the brown pelican was removed from the federal endangered species list.

Today Gaillard Island is an important habitat for thousands of birds representing 15 different species of skimmers, stilts, terns, pelicans, egrets, herons, ducks, and rails. Gaillard Island is also the only Alabama nesting site for caspain terns, sandwich terns, royal terns, and laughing gulls. The first recorded nesting of herring gulls occurred on Gaillard Island in 1986. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has closely monitored the colonial nesting shore and seabirds conducting annual surveys since 1998. During the first survey, they estimated that there were10,000 nests present on the island.

Vegetation is diverse on the island and consists of saltmeadow cordgrass, saltmarsh bulrush, salt marsh cattail, and American threesquare that naturally flourished behind the berms. Originally, smooth cordgrass was the only species that was planted. A report by the Mobile Register in mid 2011 showed that pelican populations on the island dramatically increased from 2010. The report also indicated the pelicans on the island showed no effects stemming from the 2010 BP oil spill in terms of finding a reliable food source, a previous concern from environmental officials.