BEACHES AND LIFERS!

Living in “The Mitten” I’m no stranger to beaches. One can find a beach within an hour from their home. During the winter months, however, we stay away from most beaches. (Aside from us crazy birders, OF COURSE!) So when we head for warmer climates such as Florida, we have to make the most of the beach!

Where we are in Florida is some of the whitest beaches in the world! Every beach and sand dune have all been bleach white as far as the eye can see! Definitely difficult to remove my sunglasses looking for birds! The sand is very soft on the feet which makes walking the beach that much more enjoyable.

We first went to Johnson Beach National Seashore which is located within the Gulf Islands National Seashore. After my daughter enjoyed the water, which was a tad cold, and I was able to snag a couple of birds, we headed into Gulf Shores, Alabama for some fun for the kids. Then for dinner afterward before heading back for a much-needed night’s sleep.

Next, we headed off for Fort Pickens which is still a part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Again the sand was bright and the birds were plentiful. The fort was built in 1836 before the Civil War and was in use until after WWII. One can walk the whole fort grounds to get a glimpse of the goings-on during that time.

The last stop for the day was to get a life bird. I had two target bird species as I was looking at where we were going to be staying for the week. They were Brown Headed Nuthatch which I had seen earlier in the day at Big Lagoon State Park and Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

The nuthatch is found through out the south so it wasn’t a difficult species to find. Just had to get out.The woodpecker on the other hand is another story.

Rare and declining in numbers most likely due to habitat loss, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is most easily located in a couple of places in northern Florida. One spot, thankfully, is about an hour’s drive from our accommodations.

We pulled up to a spot, noted from earlier bird posts, in the Blackwater River State Forest. I walked ahead of the truck leaving the family to wait for my hoped-for enthusiastic return (and, I should add, quick return!). Within minutes I heard the chatter of 4 Red-cockaded woodpeckers in the pines above my head! A victorious return to the truck was accomplished!

Birds seen before sleeping:

• Mourning Dove
• Clapper Rail
• Laughing Gull
• Double Breasted Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Osprey
• Red-headed woodpecker
• Downy woodpecker
• Blue Jay
• Fish Crow
• Carolina Chickadee
• Ruby Crowned Kinglet
• BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH (LIFER #472)
• Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher
• Carolina Wren
• Grey Catbird
• Brown Thrasher
• Northern Mockingbird
• Eastern Towhee
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Common Grackle
• Northern Parula
• Palm Warbler
• Pine Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• Swamp Sparrow
• Orange Crowned Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• American Avocet
• Willet
• Bonaparte Gull
• Forester’s Tern
• Common Loon
• Brown Pelican
• American Bald Eagle
• Fish Crow
• Magnificent Frigatbird
• Turkey Vulture
• RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER (LIFER#473)
• American Crow
• Carolina Wren
• Ovenbird
• American Kestral
• Muscovey Duck