Shorebirds on the Alabama Gulf Coast

Coastal Alabama is a birdwatcher’s paradise. There are tons of different species to spot and catalog. Avid birdwatchers flock to the area because it is home to such a wide variety of avians. Shorebird identification for some of the most common species:


• Great Blue Heron

The great blue heron is nearly four feet long and has a wingspan of about five feet. These wading birds are commonly found on the shoreline of open water. They are the largest of all of the herons found in North America.

The call of the great blue heron is very distinctive. The sound is reminiscent of a gigantic frog croaking. Herons are more vocal when it is breeding season.

For the most part, the great blue heron feeds on small fish, crabs, shrimp, rodents, small mammals and even birds. They usually swallow their food whole and occasionally will choke trying to consume something that is too big.

• Brown Pelican



Pelicans are large water birds that have long, pouched bills. They are good swimmers as they use their strong, little legs and webbed toes to propel themselves through the water. The tail of a Pelican is squared off and short with about two dozen feathers. The wingspan is large and the breast muscles are strong which aid in their ability to glide and soar.

A pelican’s diet is mostly fish but they will eat crustaceans and frogs. Though a rarity, they will occasionally consume small birds. Pelicans will generally search for food in large groups. They will chase schools of fish toward the shore and scoop them up for a quick meal. Pelicans will also catch fish by piercing the fish with their bills. They will then pop it into the air and catch the fish in the air and slide it down into the gullet.

• Killdeer


The killdeer is technically a plover and it is customarily found near the shore. They will also congregate in large, grassy fields such as golf courses and football fields. They eat insects and they stir up the bugs by running around in the grass. Killdeer have the typical characteristics of all plovers. Their bodies are slim and lean with long tail feathers that end in a point. They have round heads with short bills and large eyes. They are tawny colored with a white breast. The breast has two bands of black on it. The face has black and white markings. The rear area of the killdeer is orange in color.

• Oystercatcher

Oystercatchers are wading birds. The feathering is usually solid black or black to brown with a white breast. They have large and long bills that are either red or orange. These birds are noisy. By noisy, I mean incredibly loud and boisterous and they can be very annoying.



The diet of the oystercatcher is shockingly varied. They will eat bugs, worms, oysters, clams, crabs, mussels and fish too. When they’re hungry they certainly have many options for finding dinner.

All oystercatchers are monogamous birds. They are very territorial and will not only defend each other but their nesting site as well. Researchers studied a pair of oystercatchers that stayed together and defended the same nesting area for more than 20 years!

The Brown Pelican

The brown pelican is a large and mostly dark brown bird, with touches of white, and black legs and feet. This bird has a long beak with a large pouch underneath and a hooked tip.

Toes are webbed and their legs are fairly short, giving them a somewhat waddling gait when walking. Wingspan is more than two meters and they soar exceptionally well. Both males and females look alike.

There are seven pelican species living around the world. The brown pelicans' breeding ground runs from Anacapa Island, which is off the coast of California, all the way down to Chile and from Maryland in the East down to Venezuela and over to Trinidad. After breeding, their territory may cover British Colombia, and across to Nova Scotia. They only live within close proximity to water and never venture more than twenty miles out to sea or inland to fresh water. They love puttering about estuaries and at shallow bays.



Pelicans all dive down to fish then scoop up mid-sized fish into their pouch. Sometimes they feed on anchovies or sardines, but mostly consume non-commercial fish. Brown Pelicans are the only ones that dive so steeply. When fish are caught in a pelican's pouch, they force the water out by going to the surface. After that, they can swallow any fish caught. Young pelicans swim near their elders on the surface and learn how to fish that way. A pouch may hold up to three gallons of water. Sometimes, they also eat invertebrates.

Brown pelicans love to nest on islands that offer some protection. In the extreme Southeast, you can find them in mangrove swamps. Their nests are flimsy and they often build them on the ground. Because they breed in colonies, they can get disturbed by fishermen and tourists. About two or three eggs are laid in April or March. It takes a month for the chicks to hatch and both parents have parental duties. Regurgitation of the catch of the day feeds the babies. Chicks do not fly for about 75 days, after their feathers are sufficiently developed, and then they are on their own. They can breed after 2 to 5 years.

Brown pelicans were once very endangered in the U.S. due to pesticide poisoning. After DDT was banned, they recovered totally on the East Coast and are slowly climbing up in population numbers elsewhere. Some threats still exist -- overhead wires and discarded fishing line among them. Human encroachment into habitat and reduction of food source due to overfishing are also dangers.

It's great to see the recovery of this bird. Often, large flocks can be seen flying in a typical V formation. Some of these skeins contain many birds and it's heartwarming to know that nature can renew herself, if given a chance. Although any animal doesn't need a reason to exist, seeing these large birds wheel over the ocean as the sun is setting, gives human beings hope for the future.

You will not have to look hard to find brown pelicans in the Gulf Shores area. They are always flying over the beach and swimming in the coastal waters. It is easy to get close enough to them to take good photos. If you want to see them in a feeding frenzy, visit an Orange Beach marina fish cleaning station just after the charter boats come in for the day