Winter Birding in Gulf Shores - Orange Beach
For the winter visitors to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, birding can be a great activity for those early mornings or afternoons when you have a beautiful day and just want to be outside. This is by no means an exhaustive representation of all the birds you can see in the area, however it will give you an idea of what to expect on a typical outing at the Gulf State Park that is located in Gulf Shores and stretches to Orange Beach. These photos were taken on a January afternoon. If you follow the highlighted links it will take you to more information and the locations I observed the birds.
The main birding attraction has to be the nesting pair of bald eagles. They have been nesting in the park for several years now and always come back to the same nest. One year the male was found dead and the female was able to raise her young by herself. The next year she found a new mate and used the same nest. The winter months are the best time to observe the nesting pair. Late fall to early winter they spend time repairing the nest. December through March will be the most active as the chicks will be in the nest so the parents will be busy taking care of them. Osprey, the other raptor in the area, will start nesting late February to March and their busiest time will be during the summer months. Photos of other nesting birds please visit Alabama Coastal Nesting Birds.
After a few minutes I drove to the weir to see what kind of wildlife was there. I noticed a great blue heron, cormorant and great egret were looking for fish in the creek. I cut short my birding trip to go have a late lunch with a friend at DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen.
After the awesome late lunch, I drove to Lake Shelby to observe the wildlife. I was hoping to see an osprey diving in the lake for fish but they were being shy this afternoon. It was a very windy day so birds were not flying around too much. I did see hundreds of American coots at the lake. I was hoping to draw them closer in by just sitting very still on the bank. It was working but then a few people walked by and they pushed back out away from the edge. This is also a hazard to bird watching in the afternoon and evening so early morning birding is suggested if you want to see more natural bird behavior.
With less than an hour to sunset I went back to the weir to see if there was more activity. Fortunately for birding, the area was devoid of people minus cyclists that were using the miles of trails throughout the park. I don’t know if these were the same blue heron and egret as before, but with fewer people around I observed more natural birding behavior from the great egret. It even caught a small fish while I was there. I think the great blue heron may be too comfortable around people and may regularly hangout with people fishing. It was way too comfortable with my presence so I think people have been feeding the bird. However, that did give me an opportunity to get some extreme closeup opportunities.
