Common Yellowthroat at the Shell Mounds

A broad black mask lends a touch of highwayman’s mystique to the male Common Yellowthroat. Look for these furtive, yellow-and-olive…

Semipalmated Plover on Dauphin Island Beach

Semipalmated Plovers are visual hunters. They run a few steps, pause, and then lunge at prey on the ground, grabbing…

The Reddish Egret is one of the rarest egrets in North America. It’s easily distinguished from other egrets and herons by…

This is the largest gull in the world. Adults have a very dark back and wings—very nearly black—making the identification fairly…

A fairly large, powerfully built but elegant heron. Reddish Egrets have long, sturdy legs, long necks, and thick, daggerlike bills.…

Butterflies migrate when the weather begins to get colder. Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island are good places to stop for…

The Mobile Bay Ferry crosses beautiful Mobile Bay, Alabama and connects SR 193 at Dauphin Island on the west side…

Shorebirds include a wide range of birds that live near water, such as plovers, sandpipers, gulls, and auks.

Willets are large, stocky shorebirds with long legs and thick, straight bills considerably longer than the head.

There were a lot of dragonflies swarming the beach this past weekend. I had to rescue at least 3 from…