Birding
Gulf State Park offers a diversity of habitat for residential and migrating birds! Osprey, Herons, Rails, Owls, Woodpeckers and much more frequent the Park. Keep an eye in the sky for one our nesting Bald Eagles souring above! When storms occur in the Gulf of Mexico, the wind pushes pelagic birds to our shoreline, such as Magnificent Frigatebirds and Northern Gannets.
This checklist of birds found in the Gulf Coast Region of Alabama may be helpful while you explore.
Use this Bird Observation Data Chart to view the range of birds we have and the expectancy to see them throughout the year at Gulf State Park.
If you're interested in exploring beyond Gulf State Park checkout the Alabama Coastal Birding Trails!
Volunteer
Alabama Audubon has a coastal stewardship program that offers many volunteer opportunities! You can help with educational outreach at community events, represent Audubon on the beaches and inform beach goers of nesting birds, conduct bird walks to collect important data, and more! Visit the Alabama Audubon website for more information.
Want to have birds in your backyard? You can use this guide to help build a proper nest box.
If you do not live in the area, visit this website by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and learn about all the different kinds of birds you can welcome! You can also find out which birds are best suited for the kind of backyard you have and nest box dimensions for a variety of species.
Common Birds of Gulf State Park
Below is a guide for common birds you may see at the Park. Click on the photo for a closer look at each bird and look in the bottom left corner for the species name. This list does not include every single species you may see. If you do not see a bird similar to one you observed, stop by the Nature Center and ask one of our Naturalists what kind it may be!
Hummingbirds
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
Coots
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Plovers
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Sandpipers
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
Gulls
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Terns
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)
Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus)
Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
Loons
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Gannetts
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Pelicans
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Herons
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
New World Vultures
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Osprey
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Hawks/Eagles
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Owls
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
