May 1, 2022 - St. George Island State Park
Read MoreFor the last 20 years, Diana and I have spent two months in the winter on St. George Island, Florida. It’s a 21-mile-long barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Florida. It’s located about in the middle of the Florida panhandle, and it is connected to the mainland by a four-mile-long causeway. About a third of the island is a state park. Here’s a view of the shoreline at the park.
Here are some of the resident birds that I typically see at the park. This is a Herring Gull. At 25 inches long, it is the largest common gull on the island. It has pink legs, and black and red spots on its beak. This bird is in non-breeding plumage, so it has brown streaks on its head and neck. When it molts to its breeding plumage, the head will be all white.
While we are there, I probably see more Laughing Gulls than any of the other gull species. They are only about 16½ inches long. This bird is also in non-breeding plumage which makes it look like it has gray smudges all over its body. Some of the Laughing Gulls molt into full breeding plumage before we leave. The neck, chest, and belly turn pure white, and the head becomes all black. They do retain the narrow white arcs above and below the eyes, and the beak turns dark red.
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