Scope on the Coast

Pelican Bay: A Winter-bird Wonderland

With the help of our awesome volunteers, a total of 117 different species were observed during surveys and over 12,000 individuals were counted across Mobile and Baldwin Counties! Of the eight routes that were surveyed in Mobile County there is one that I found to be quite the hidden gem.

Coastal CBC

Read about coastal Alabama’s Christmas Bird Count, and the notable species seen during count week.

ACBS: Bayfront Park

We counted 49 species of birds, including Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a female Painted Bunting and the following warblers: Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler and a Common Yellowthroat.

12 March 2021: Oystercatchers

As soon as they were close enough to hear the calls and see the decoy the birds started immediately displaying territorial behavior.

09 March 2021: Snowy Plovers

Once we made it to the end of the route, we finally observed one skittish snowy plover.

22 February 2021

As we started down the beach, we noticed several northern gannets foraging offshore.

14 January 2021

The water was almost completely flat, and the sunrise had just begun displaying beautiful hues of pinks and oranges behind a partly cloudy sky.

21 October 2020

The tide was low, and the water was almost crystal clear. I noticed three sharks and one decently sized ray species in the shallows as I was walking along the shoreline.

20 October 2020

Since our power was still out from the hurricane, and my phone battery was extremely low, I had to make a judgment whether the rain would at least pause long enough to let me run the pulse.

02 October 2020

One of my “bucket list” goals is to bird every site on the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail.

31 August 2020

Breeding season has finally come to an end for our coastal birds.

16 August 2020

By the seventh day the chicks were a couple of inches taller and a lot braver!

09 August 2020

We recently discovered a family of green herons foraging along side one of the many ponds located on the property.

31 July 2020

Another exciting find we had this week was a rare visitor from Antarctica!

22 July 2020

Today, Sabrina and I got to the beach early. We were hoping to get the survey done before the heat of the day set in, when we found a welcome surprise!

15 July 2020

We are happy to report that our least tern colony that previously faced some challenges is showing signs of successful nesting!

09 July 2020

On July 1st, we were happily surprised by an unexpected pair of black skimmers that had chosen to nest in the middle of the beach!

03 July 2020

We were getting discouraged, thinking the chicks may not have made it. Between the constant threat of depredation from coyotes and Tropical Storm Cristobal coming through the area, it would have been a difficult first few weeks for them.

23 June 2020

It appeared the colony had successfully weathered the storm. Little did we know the colony would face another challenge a few days later.

16 June 2020

Cristobal’s angle of approach brought heavy rain, high wind, and significant storm surge to the coast region of Alabama.

11 June 2020

On our continued quest to locate and monitor snowy plover nests, we discovered a second nest on Dauphin Island on May 11th.

04 June 2020

Least terns are one of the colonial nesting species here on Alabama’s coast. Their colonies can range from just a few birds to hundreds of pairs and nests!

25 May 2020

It was only 5:30 am when we started walking along the beach looking for any trace of this elusive bird. Snowy plovers are masters of camouflage.

23 May 2020

Join coastal biologists Sabrina and Olivia as they survey and monitor important coastal habitat here along Alabama’s shore.