Orange Beach Trip - Day 3 - January 18, 2021

We had originally thought about going to Dauphin Island this morning on our way home but decided against it because it would add a couple hours to our drive time today and winter is not prime birding season.  So we may have driven over there to only see the same birds we have been seeing in Orange Beach.  Instead we decided check out a few of the birding spots on the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail.  So we checked out stops 1, 3, and 9 on the Gulf Shores - Orange Beach Loop.

At the first stop, Perdido Pass/Alabama Point - East, there is beach access on both the gulf and Perdido Bay.  There were a number of fishermen on the beach facing the bay.  

Double-crested Cormorant

Common Loon

Great Blue Heron

Brown Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Common Loon

Great Blue Heron

I believe this is a dredger.  It was hard at work in the entrance to the bay.

Grackle

At the second stop, Boggy Point (which was a busy boat launch this morning), we had views of Robinson Island, which is a popular nesting site (during breeding season) for herons and egrets.  Besides trees full of herons, we spotted a Bald Eagle resting in the top of a tree.  Unfortunately, he flew away before I could get my tripod set up and so my photos of him are not as clear as I would have liked.

Killdeer

Laughing Gull

Common Loon

Bald Eagle (and a Brown Pelican in the bottom right)

At least four Great Blue Herons at the top of this tree

Double-crested Cormorants

Pied-bill Grebe

Common Loon in front with a Ring-billed Gull and a Laughing Gull

Osprey

When you gotta go, you gotta go....

After Boggy Point, we decided to stop off at a paved trailed (Cotton Bayou Trail) for some walking before heading to the final stop on the birding trail.  This trail runs through marshes and forests.  In warmer weather, I would anticipate alligators are a common sight.  The weather was so absolutely beautiful that we really enjoyed this walk.

Northern Mockingbird

Our final stop on the birding trail was Lagoon Pass Park.  This small park had beach access to the gulf as well as a fishing pier with views of Little Lagoon.  There was a small island in the lagoon just full of pelicans, gulls, and terns.

Brown Pelicans with Laughing Gulls

Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns (have orange bills), Laughing Gulls, and a Ring-billed Gull or two

Laughing Gulls

A Forster's Tern (front far left) with Laughing Gulls

Common Loon

Sanderlings

Willet

Laughing Gull (on the gulf)

Willet

I'm not sure what these two were collecting but they were attracting a lot of attention from the shore birds.

That was our last stop for the day and it was time to start heading home.  On our way home, we found a small park in Foley for a picnic lunch break.  Overall, this trip was just the relaxation we needed.  For me, there is nothing more calming than the sound of waves on the surf and sea gulls squawking.  And photographing birds forces me to slow down, practice patience, and enjoy the beauty around me.