Into Alabama
I write this blog post while taking a rest day in Gulf Shores Alabama. My last few days have been busy, so this rest day is allowing me to catch up on several things including posting to my blog. I left Destin FL early last Friday to cycle to Pensacola Beach. Part of the reason for the early departure was to spend time at a birding hotspot I had identified at the east jetty for the channel into Choctawhatchee Bay. A number of birds I had not yet seen had been spotted there during the previous 3 days. Unfortunately, after biking a couple of miles to get there, I discovered that the area was all part of a private walled community that I could not access.
Disappointed, I headed back to US 98 where I would spend most of the first 30 miles of my ride until I crossed over to Santa Rosa Island. While most of the bridges I have come across have had reasonable bike lanes, my second bridge of the day did not. The shoulder was just 1’ wide. The pedestrian walk was about 3’ wide. While I could have bicycled on it, I just did not like the way it felt with the rough concrete wall to the right and the 1’ drop to the road to the left, so I decided to simply walk my bike. I met both a pedestrian as well as a cyclist coming the other direction, so walking proved to be a very good choice.
After biking another 20 miles along Santa Rosa Island, I arrived at my hotel in Pensacola Beach. It was just after noon when I arrived, but my room was ready. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I removed my front and rear saddle bags leaving only my camera bag. I then biked out to the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Fort Pickens at the end of the Island for some bird photography. This Scarlet Tanager was a new bird for my 2025 list.
Mostly, I saw birds that I have already photographed this year. However, I did like this photo I took of a Green Heron being buffeted by the wind.
I saw a pair of Prothonotary Warblers, and was delighted to get this nice clean shot. So often, the warblers are obscured by branches, and even when they are not, they hop around so constantly, that getting a good clean photo is challenging.
I saw this Great Blue Heron, and my mind immediately thought of a trench coat flasher.
Much of the time while traveling through the park, I rode on the Florida Trail, a 1300 mile trail with its northern end at Fort Pickens and its southern end in Big Cypress National Reserve west of Miami.
I was treated to some nice light as the sun started to set and I rode back to my hotel.
On Saturday, I made two trips into the Gulf Islands National Seashore, one in the early morning hours and one for the late afternoon. I parked my bike near a particular grove of trees and bushes which is generally thought to be the best location to find warblers in the park. As I got my camera out, this female Red-Winged Blackbird caught my eye. Whether it was just a trick of the morning light, the coloration of this bird, or both, I liked how the bird seemed to have the same washed out, sun bleached look as the dead tree limb it was sitting on.
As I searched for birds in the thicket, I noticed this tiny Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. The pink flash of its throat was what caught my eye.
I was searching for migrating warblers, but I was having very little luck. I did find this Blackpoll Warbler, but it was the only new one for me. In addition to this, I also saw a Prairie Warbler and a Palm Warbler. This is a very small selection for two hours searching during the spring migration.
On the positive side, I spotted my first ever Indigo Bunting.
In my afternoon outing, I photographed this Blue Grosbeak, allowing me to easily compare and contrast these two blue species.
On Easter Sunday, I headed out early to the park for one last outing before biking into Alabama. I spent two hours searching for birds. I was able to photograph both a pair of Cape May Warblers and a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, both of which are new species for me. Unfortunately, in a completely brain dead maneuver, when I later reached a park in Alabama, I totally forgot that I had photographs from that morning on my camera that I had not offloaded. I noticed that my card was not empty, but thinking they were Saturday’s photos which were now safely on my laptop and backed up in the cloud, I reformatted my memory card wiping out the mornings images. Thus, I only completed half of the “Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints.” Sigh.
The last 6 miles of my ride Sunday was through Gulf State Park.
The bike path skirted along the southeast side of Little Lake, then Middle Lake seen here, before ultimately ending on the southern shore of Shelby Lake.
I then checked into my hotel across the street. Here is the view out my balcony door.
Tomorrow I hope to get in some birding en route as I bike to Fort Morgan then take the ferry to Dauphin Island before continuing on to Bayou La Batre AL. On Wednesday, I bike to Gulfport MS. Finally, on Thursday, I complete my ride by arriving in New Orleans.