Back in Gulf Shores

Back in Gulf Shores, AL, for the first time in many years. It's very early in the season though, and hard to dress for the weather, since the temperature changes from cold to comfortable during the day, and the wind blows without ceasing. It's good to get away since I've spent the last six months battling cancer - successfully!

Our familiar bird friends were waiting for us on the beach, and we are looking many of them up in the field guide again since it's been so long. It's always a challenge to tell the immature birds and those with winter feathers apart.

The Laughing Gulls are here year-round, and have grown in their breeding feathers, so they are ready to go. Still looking for Ring-bills and Herring Gulls who go north to breed.

I never know what they find to laugh about so much!

Gulf State Park is right down the road, so we spent most of the day there. They have over 500 camping spaces, and we saw so many enormous RVs it was hard to find the hiking trails. Actually, the trails we saw were paved and used more by bicyclists than hikers. We almost got run over several times. The buildings looked newer than we usually find in a state park, and the ranger said they had lots of damage in Hurricane Ivan, so they got to put up new facilities.

A pair of Ospreys sat on the nest platform near the Nature Center...

...and called back and forth to each other. Couldn't tell if she has eggs yet or not.

The Purple Martins have arrived and were making quite a racket when we first arrived, then seemed to disappear when we returned to the car.

These Shrikes were all over though. I've never heard them singing before. Also had lots of Mockingbirds and Yellow-rump Warblers. Heard Red-winged Blackbirds in one spot, but expected more of them.

We were the sole attendees at a presentation on carnivorous plants, then she took us outside to a small collection of them growing next to the Nature Center. And they were blooming! The flowers all grow high above the rest of the plant so the pollinators don't slide in accidentally.

 Look at the little hairs growing inside the mouth. They all point downward, so any bug that fall inside can't climb back out again and gets digested.

She's going to lead a hike to the real bog later this week, and we'll probably join her. They don't share its location with the general public.