Mississippi Day Six: A Beautiful Beach And A Lot Of Birds On My Last Morning At The Lake Mars Pier

It was my last morning in Mississippi. It was a wonderful visit so far. A lot more to explore than I expected.  So many  beautiful areas to observe Nature.  I decided  to return  to my favorite, the Lake Mars Pier and nearby beach in Ocean Springs early Monday morning. 

After my two cups of coffee took the 20 minute drive and arrived at the pier before the sunrise.

It was partly cloudy and a lot warmer. The temperature was 68 degrees and there was rain in the forecast. It was Monday morning and there was no one at the pier when I arrived, just me and  some shore birds.

There was a double-crested cormorant swimming in the waters along the pier,

this ruddy turnstone and 

sanderling,

were scurrying on the pier feeding on the remains of the fish  caught  the previous day by the many fishermen who were at the Lake Mars pier on the weekend. They seemed to be working as a team in their search for food. 

The sun soon rose above the clouds on the eastern horizon. Once again it was a peaceful experience being out on the pier alone. 

The sun lit up the cloudy skies making for some beautiful scenery over the pier. 

I realized, when I didn’t see birds wading in the waters along the shore, that it still wasn’t low tide for a few hours and the waters were too deep for the  many  wading birds I saw the previous morning. There were still a lot of shore birds in the shallow water along the piers and rock jetties across from the pier including this greater yellowlegs, 

this dunlin, 

an American oyster catcher  and 

this snowy egret. 

A great blue heron was perched on the rocks of the jetty.

It seemed to be staring at the  horizon since, perched high  on the rocks,  it could not dive and catch a fish. It is  pretty and graceful bird. 

A royal tern,

and a juvenile laughing gull  were  perched on  wooden posts near the pier. 

Royal terns, and laughing gulls and ring billed gulls flew over the pier. 

Also across from the pier , a large flock of brow pelicans continually landed and took off  of the rocky jetty. 

I could have spent the day observing the many birds at the Lake Mars pier but I was leaving my hotel and heading to Alabama  in the afternoon so I walked over to the beautiful beach and shoreline I had found on Saturday. Once again I was the only one on the beach.  It was so peaceful. 

I soon learned I wasn’t the only one visiting the beach. Their were these raccoon tracks all along the shore and it looks like it is a favorite feeding area for a lot of raccoons. 

I walked along the shore, taking in the beautiful scenery. 

I heard the sedge wrens and other birds in the march  along the shore, but I didn’t have time to wait for them to make an appearance, which they most often do. 

I walked up to the stream which prevents ne from following the beach any further and made my was back to the pier. 

At the pier I saw this belted kingfisher perched on an electric line. It flew off, and I followed it and found this canal near the pier. 

It looks like another great place to observe some bird activity. 

I followed a road leading into the pier and found some more familiar birds in the woodlands along the road, this gray catbird, 

 northern mockingbird, 

and eastern phoebe are all birds that live near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the warmer months. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs of the birds I saw at Lake Mars pier Mississippi Day Six Morning walk December 6 2021. 

I  wanted to stay and continue to enjoy the natural beautiful and numerous birds  that were active in this area near the pier. However, some rain started to fall and I wanted to  check out of my hotel and head to Mobile Alabama. I planned to visit the Botanical Gardens there. But you all may know how my plans have been going on this trip if you  have been following my blog. Stay tuned and you shall see. 

I did make one more detour on my way back to my hotel. I stopped at a local commercial complex where I was told some of the endangered Mississippi sandhill  cranes were seen in the fields in the complex. I drove around for 15 minutes and didn’t see any. Well I hope to return soon and find these beautiful and rare birds. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs from my hike. Mississippi Day Six morning hike December 6 2021. 

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