Page 47 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2024

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Waterfowl prefer marshes and lakes. Pelicans, gulls and other seabirds like the coast. Endangered red- cockaded woodpeckers live in pine forests, like the De Soto and Homochitto National Forests.
“Shorelines are a big attractant for many species, such as plovers,” Winstead explains. “Piping plovers winter along the Gulf Coast. They are federally threatened in Mississippi. Laughing
gulls nest in parts of South Mississippi. Other gull species come down in the winter. On the Coast, people might also see horned grebes, common loons and northern gannets.”
Endangered least terns nest in Mississippi. Other rare birds include the Mississippi subspecies of sandhill crane. Fewer than 35 of these cranes existed in 1975 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the 19,000-acre Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (www.fws.gov/refuge/mississippi-sandhill-crane) near Gautier for them.
“The Mississippi sandhill crane does not migrate, but other sandhill cranes do come down during the winter,” Winstead says. “Some bald eagles nest in Mississippi, but their numbers increase during the winter as birds migrate down to the state. Another raptor much more abundant during the winter, American kestrels are a small falcon species that nest in Mississippi.”
To start birding, buy a good pair of binoculars and a bird identification book. Winstead recommends the Field Guide to Birds of North America. Novice birders might consider joining a birding club or participate in a field trip with more experienced birders.
South Mississippi offers numerous places to
see birds in diverse habitats. Many public lands, including parks, national forests, and coastal preserves provide excellent opportunities for bird watching. Some good places include Hancock County Marshes Preserve, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Some wildlife management areas also offer good opportunities to see birds, but several hunting seasons remain open during February. Birders
on these properties should wear orange and not interfere with hunters.
For more on the Museum of Natural Science see www.mdwfp.com/museum.
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17.
20.
11: Common Yellowthroat.
12: Gray Catbird.
13: Great Blue Heron.
14: Green Heron. 23. 15: Laughing Gull.
16: Least Tern.
17: Little Blue Heron.
18: Male Common
Gallinule. 19: Male Purple Gallinule.
20: Osprey in nest. 21: Marbled Godwit. 22: Red-cockaded
26.
29.
31.
12. 13. 14.
16.
18.
19.
21.
22.
24.
25.
27.
woodpecker.
23: Red-shouldered Hawk. 24: Great White Egret.
25: Ring-necked Duck.
26: Roseate Spoonbill.
27: Red-tailed Hawk.
28: Reddish Egret.
29: Ruddy Turnstone.
30: Snowy Plover.
31: White Pelican.
32: Snowy Egret.
33: Wilsons Plover.
34: Whihite Ibis.
35: Barred Owl.
34.
35.
30.
28.
32. 33.
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