Migrate to Pensacola to Explore the Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail
In Pensacola, we’re lucky to be located under the superhighway for birds, the Atlantic Flyway that stretches 3,000 miles from the Caribbean to the Arctic…
Pensacola: Book Your Birdcation Now
Picture this: You’re driving down a winding road laid between white sand beaches just before the break of dawn chorus at Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida. There’s a grey haze of mist over the bay to your right and the gulf to your left. You spend the morning watching Soras and Clapper Rails tiptoe through the reeds in the wetlands. Without having to get back in your car, you find Snowy Plovers shuffling along the shore and Great Horned Owlets peeking over their nest in the top of a Longleaf Pine. When the sun is high and hot, signaling a lull in bird activity, you make your way to one of the many waterfront restaurants and feast upon fresh-caught red snapper (a signature in Pensacola) that you wash down with something sweet and fruity.
With your belly full and feet rested, you make your way to Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park or Big Lagoon State Park, where you stroll along picturesque boardwalks, catching glimpses of warblers, woodpeckers, thrushes, and wrens. Perhaps you find yourself at Project Greenshores scanning shorebirds as they preen and call to one another along the restored salt marshes and oyster reefs. As your day list fills up, you find yourself in need of a snack, so you saunter over to Pensacola Beach Pier. You grab a bite to go and tote your scope out to the end of the boardwalk where you watch terns, black skimmers, and northern gannets soar through the sunset. The sun goes down and you spot some swarming nighthawks on your way to go hear a live band.
This, my friends, is not your typical birding trip. It is a birdcation. Pensacola’s protected and diverse wildlife, paired with beach town activities, makes it an incredible birding spot any time of the year. It is also the first place many birds touch US soil during Spring Migration as they make their way across the gulf in their bold breeding plumage, granting opportunities for great looks, as sleepy birds sometimes sit more still. Vagrants such as red-billed tropicbirds and magnificent frigatebirds are not uncommon during migration, either. Within Pensacola, you have open beaches, protected dunes, wetlands, ponds, rivers, forests, and open fields so no matter what species you are looking for, odds are there is an ideal habitat for it within a short drive.
If this piques your interest, allow me to share my itinerary for my short trip, along with pro Pensacola birding tips.
Bonner Black’s Pensacola Birdcation
Day 1:
Morning: Arrive in Pensacola
Midday: Lunch
Afternoon: Head to Wayside Park and, on the way, stop into the Pensacola Visitor Information Center where you can get tips and helpful literature on the area. Bird at Project Greenshores (restored salt marshes and oyster reefs). There are many walking paths and viewpoints here. Explore!
Evening: Go for a sunset stroll along the beach to find sanderlings, willets, and herons.
Nighttime: Dinner at one of the many amazing restaurants (I went to Crabs On The Beach). Go to bed early this night.
Day 2:
Morning: Quick coffee and breakfast at the hotel. Head to Big Lagoon State Park as early as you would like. Find ducks along the waterways, songbirds above the sandy forest trails, and water birds from the overlook that gives you a view over the Intracoastal Waterway.
Midday: Lunch!
Afternoon: Arrive at Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park and stroll along the boardwalks. This place is more woods, less beach, and is home to three different carnivorous plant species. The boardwalk opens up to a large pond where you can find ducks and waders. Spend 1-2 hours here. Then head to Bayou Marcus Birding Trail. Also a wooded area, the local water waste actually pumps out clean treated water into the ground creating a lush wetland ideal for warblers and thrushes. Spend 1-2 hours here.
Evening: Hungry again? Of course. Head to Pensacola Beach Pier and have a meal and one of the restaurants overlooking the water (I went to Casino Beach Bar & Grille). Either eat before the sunset or take it to go and set up a scope at the end of the walkway. Enjoy the most beautiful sunset lined with soaring birds. When people come up to you and say “what are you looking at?” let them take a peek through your scope and tell them what you’re seeing. Who knows? Maybe you’re somebody’s spark bird!
Night: I ended up going to Paradise Bar and Grill for a night cap and a live band!
Day 3:
Morning: Early bird gets the worm. QUICK coffee and breakfast at the hotel. I was up well before the sun in order to make it to Fort Pickens in time for dawn chorus. Fort Pickens is a place to spend a whole day as it is, by reputation, the favorite birding spot in Pensacola, according to many birders I spoke to. I sat atop Battery Langdon with my birder friends, among bushes and trees, with the gulf and bay on both sides, and soaked in the awe of the sunrise. After sunrise, we descended Battery Langdon and began making our way through the site finding osprey, red-shouldered hawks, and kestrels. There had been smooth-billed anis also seen here, but we didn’t see them this day. Oh well, that’s birding!
Lunch: We went to Peg Leg Pete’s, but it’s also a great idea to bring your own lunch to this location and stay put.
Afternoon: We climbed to the top of the fort and had great views of a Loggerhead Shrike and I got my lifer Vesper Sparrow! Paths woven through wetlands provided great views of an otter and a Sora. Soft sugar sand beaches with turquoise blue water were filled with hungry willets and Common Loons. We were almost about to turn back when we spotted a Snowy Plover.
Evening: Around 3 pm, with a lifer and 54 total species on my list, I decided I wanted a proper beach moment. Go back to your hotel, change into your bathing suit, and do something we often forget to do… RELAX. I picked up several accidental species, half asleep, basking in the sun.
Nighttime: Dinner and live music. There are some great outdoor restaurants and bars that have live bands.
Day 4:
Morning: Admittedly, I slept in a bit this day, and I highly recommend it. I also went out and got a proper breakfast and coffee.
Midday: Fully rested and fueled, I went to Shoreline Park and did some birding on the bay. This is where the red-billed tropicbird had been spotted, and I knew finding it myself would be a matter of dumb luck. I did not see the bird, but there were gulls, terns, and ducks galore. I spent about two hours here.
Afternoon: Packed my bags and drove back home (about 7 hours to Nashville where I live). On my drive, I happened to catch a Swallow-tailed kite over the highway, which is a common experience for Florida, but not for me! On the drive home, I marveled at how much I was able to see and do in such a short time.
And that’s how you have a successful birdcation!! Thank you, Pensacola. I sure will be back!
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