Camping and Birding in the Florida Northeast Coast

Camping and birding make a great combination.  We enjoy both.
This trip took us to the Northeastern coast of Florida in Little Talbot Island State Park.  What a beautiful place! 

Snowy Egrets behind our tent.

Our camp site was right beside the bathrooms, and the river (a swamp to be more accurate) was just behind us.  The picture above with the Egrets was taken from our site.  We got a lot of visitors behind our tent (literally): various Grebes, an Ovenbird visiting during breakfast one morning, various Mergansers, Herons, and pretty songbirds in the trees all around. 

It's nice to have a cup of coffee in the morning and start birding right on trails around the campground enjoying Brown Pelicans, Belted Kingfishers, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Yellow-throated Warblers (oh, so pretty!), Kinglets, Woodpeckers....owls hooting one night.

Morning after coffee and before breakfast

For anyone who does not camp in State Parks, let me just mention that SPs have bathrooms with hot showers, and the camp sites have water and electricity hookups.  With an electric heater in your tent and a cozy electric blanket, you can still be quite comfortable even if the nights get a bit chilly. 

A photogenic Osprey

We had a goal of beating our last record of 102 bird species during a camping trip. We got 127 bird species including 13 life birds this time!!! That's thousands of birds seen.  A "life bird" is a bird that a birder is seeing for the first time.  (We keep a list).  Our birding included stops on the Georgia coast: Statesboro (Northern Lapwing!), Tybee Island (Snowy Owl!!!), Jekyll Island and the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area on the way back. 

Lots of unspoiled areas on the beach

The area where we were camping was a superb birding spot. Little Talbot Island is part of a seven park system that includes Amelia Island and Great Talbot Island.  We saw some pretty Roseate Spoonbills feeding quietly in the marshes. 

Biking and birding!

We tried a different quite of birding technique on this trip, biking and birding.  Worked great.  Seemed as the birds do not hear you coming as fast as if you were walking.  And you cover more grounds too.  This was a bit similar to canoeing/kayaking and birding.  

Debbie on one of our birding outing



We enjoyed the birding very much but we could not spent anytime on the beach as previously planned; except for observing shorebirds.  It was just too windy on the beach and not warm enough. 

Unique tree with a unique person

When we go out camping and birding, we see more than just birds.  Nature tends to offer beauties that come in more forms than just with feathers.  The ocean is beautiful, the various rivers and estuaries were beautiful.  Even the marshes have their own beauties.  Some of the trees we saw were just amazing.  Just walk down a quite beach with driftwood and you'll appreciate what birding on the coast means.  Soaking it all in. 

Still young at heart.  Swinging away in Jekyll Island

Before we knew it, it was time to come back home.  Jekyll Island and the Altamaha brought us a few more birds on the way back.  We're already thinking about the next birding/camping trip. 

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