BIRDS

You can certainly expect to enjoy a variety of birds when you visit Pensacola Beach. They can be found in different habitats and engaged in interesting behaviors. Some birds like Least Terns and Black Skimmers raise their families right on the sandy beach. Keep your distance and respect the areas that are roped off as the nurseries that they are. Other birds like Snowy and Wilson’s Plovers nest higher among the dunes and Clapper Rails in marshes where they are hard to spot. Visitors can easily see an Osprey nest high in a tree or an adapted human structure.

Birds adapt in a number of ways to make use of various food sources. Seafood is a favorite to many and can range from the tiniest crustacean to a fish like a mullet that we also eat. The Great Blue Heron is a specialist in ambush and thievery, while the Brown Pelican puts on quite an aerial show whether feeding or flying in formation.