Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The truly unique thing about Perdido Point is that the dunes here are critical habitat for one
of the rarest creatures on Earth, the Perdido Key beach mouse ( Peromyscus polionotus tris-
sylepsis ), a listed endangered species. Perhaps fewer than a hundred mice survive in the wild,
and Perdido Point is one of only two known habitats left for this species which lives solely on
Perdido Key. These mice are nocturnal ; their burrows and their habit of distributing seeds of
sea oats and other grasses may help stabilize the dunes. Please stay off the dunes: human foot
traffic and litter harm the mice. If you stay on the main path, the boardwalk, and the beach,
your presence should not impact the mice. Also, take all your garbage with you rather than
placing it in the cans provided at the parking lot. The less trash there is, the slighter the at-
traction will be for feral cats and foxes that eat the mice, and for house mice which compete
with the beach mice.
Gulf State Park has an official bird list put together by Thomas A. Imhof, the author of
Alabama Birds . This list includes 347 species and covers the whole area known as Pleasure
Island, which is the land south of the intracoastal waterway from Fort Morgan on the west to
Perdido Pass on the east. This bird list and other information about the park can be obtained
by writing Gulf State Park, 20115 State Highway 135, Gulf Shores, AL 36542.
WEEKS BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESERVE
Weeks Bay is a small but dynamic estuary off Bon Secour Bay, which makes up the south-
eastern portion of Mobile Bay; Weeks Bay is fed by the lovely Magnolia and Fish Rivers. In
February of 1986, 3,028 acres of water, marsh, and woodland were set aside as the Weeks
Bay National Estuarine Reserve. Much of the reserve is along the shore of Bon Secour Bay
and is inaccessible except by boat; however, the portion of the reserve around the sides of
Weeks Bay is a very accessible area and provides some very fine birding.
Access to Weeks Bay is found between mile markers 63 and 64 on SH 98, west of Foley.
Although a visitor center is planned and it will be next to the road and very visible, currently
there is only an unpaved parking lot at the trailhead. This small parking lot is located on the
south side of SH 98, 0.6 miles west of the end of the L. W. “Louie” Brannan Bridge span-
ning the Fish River. At the parking lot is a small information center stocked with a number of
pamphlets about Weeks Bay, including a booklet on the more common birds found here.
The easy trail starts out along the edge of a field and orchard where one may glimpse
purple martins, eastern meadowlarks, and possibly a red-tailed hawk. The trail reaches a large
live oak that has some benches and a lectern underneath it; on pleasant winter days, this oak
can be filled with yellow-rumped warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets. Past the oak, the trail
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