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Coastal Dunes

20 Bird Species

Bridled Tern

A slender, dark-backed tern, breeds in the Florida Keys. Alternate Adult has black wings, dark gray back, forked tail extending past wings, gray stripe down center of spread tail, white underparts, black legs, black cap and eyeline, white forehead extending past eye, and thin black bill. Basic Adult more...

Length: 39 cm Wingspan: 76 cm

Common Ground-Dove

Small, stocky dove with short, stubby, rounded wings, a short tail, and red eyes. Eastern adult male: gray-brown overall with bright pinkish wash on belly, breast, head and wings. Scaly-looking breast. Scaly-looking, bluish-gray crown and nape. Bronze spots on wing coverts. Reddish bill with black ti more...

Length: 17 cm Wingspan: 28 cm

Common Nighthawk

A slender, long-winged, partly nocturnal bird, widespread across North America. Adult is cryptically plumaged when perched, with long black primaries extending past tail, white wing spot underneath shoulder, softly-patterned upperparts marbled and spotted with brown and black tones, buffy or whitish more...

Length: 24 cm Wingspan: 61 cm

Great Black-backed Gull

A very large, bulky, blocky-headed, four-year gull of the Atlantic. Alternate Adult has dark slate-gray (near black) mantle that is darker than any other regular North American gull, black wingtips with small white spots, white head and underparts, usually pale eye, pink legs, and yellow bill with re more...

Length: 76 cm Wingspan: 165 cm

Horned Lark

This species exhibits as much geographic variation in appearance as any North American passerine, with 21 recognized subspecies (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/195). Adult male has upperparts that vary from a cold pale sandy-brown to warmer medium brown with reddish tones. Median wing cover more...

Length: 18 cm Wingspan: 30 cm

Mountain Plover

A medium-sized plover, with long legs and a slender long-winged profile. Alternate Adult has sandy-brown wings and back, black flight feathers, black-tipped tail, gray legs, white underparts, yellow wash on head and neck, white throat, forehead, and supercilium, black forecrown and lores, and a short more...

Length: 23 cm Wingspan: 58 cm

Northern Harrier

Long rounded wings, a long banded tail, and a white rump patch in all plumages help to distinguish this species from all other North American raptors. At close range, note the ruff of feathers around the head that forms an owl-like facial disc. Males: Pale gray above, mostly white below. In flight, n more...

Length: 41 cm Wingspan: 97 cm

Piping Plover

A small, stocky plover with pale orange legs and a stubby, orange bill with black tip. Upperparts, crown and face are very pale sandy brown. Eyebrow, throat, collar, and underparts are clean white. White forehead with black upper border. Thin, dark breast band wraps around neck. Basic Adults and juve more...

Length: 18 cm Wingspan: 38 cm

Prairie Warbler

Alternate Adult male is mostly olive-green above and bright yellow below, with thick black streaks on flanks. Distinctive head pattern, is comprised of a broad yellow supercilium, a dark eye line, a wide yellow arc under the eye, and a black swash that sweeps down from in front of the eye curling be more...

Length: 12 cm Wingspan: 18 cm

Rufous Hummingbird

This species, nearly identical to Allen’s Hummingbird, ranges farther north than any other hummingbird. Male: Rusty-orange overall, with green on the crown, and variable amounts of green on the back of some individuals. The gorget is coppery-red, often with a greenish sheen. The breast is white. Th more...

Length: 10 cm Wingspan: 12 cm

Savannah Sparrow

This little grassland sparrow shows much variation across the continent. In all plumages, look for the short notched tail, heavily streaked breast (often with a central spot), and pink legs and feet. Most subspecies have a distinctive yellow spot above the lores. The color of the upperparts ranges fr more...

Length: 11 cm Wingspan: 20 cm

Semipalmated Plover

Alternate Adult male has single dark breastband that is wider laterally, white throat, and collar. Head pattern is distinctive; white on forehead, black arching from the front of the eye across the forecrown, partial white supercilium above and behind the eye, broad black mask through the eye that co more...

Length: 18 cm Wingspan: 48 cm

Short-eared Owl

A mid-sized owl of open fields, often active at dusk. Stocky and rounded; tiny ear-tufts usually not visible in the field. Adult male is patterned buff and brown overall, with streaked breast, pale belly, spotted wings with orange-yellow primaries, pale face, dark eye-patches, and yellow eyes. Female more...

Length: 38 cm Wingspan: 96 cm

Snow Bunting

In all plumages, this species can be recognized its mostly white plumage and its bold black and white wing pattern in flight. Alternate Male: White overall, with a black back, black wing tips, and black inner tail feathers. The bill is black. Alternate Female: White underparts. Back is dark ashy-gray more...

Length: 16 cm Wingspan: 30 cm

Snowy Owl

A large, mostly white owl of the far north. Stocky and rounded, lacking ear tufts, with glaring yellow eyes. Adult male is almost entirely white with scattered black spots on body, wings, and tail. Females are more heavily marked, and immatures are thickly barred and spotted with black; face is white more...

Length: 58 cm Wingspan: 132 cm

Snowy Plover

This light-colored little plover is found on both sandy beaches and on inland alkali flats and salt pans. In all plumages, the bill is thin and black, and the legs are dark gray. Alternate Adult: Upperparts are pale gray-brown, the color of dry sand. Small black patches occur on the forecrown, auricu more...

Length: 15 cm Wingspan: 33 cm

Non-vegetated Areas

1 species

Snow Bunting

Plectrophenax nivalis

Bare Rocky Slopes, Beaches, Coastal Dunes, Open Country and Grasslands

Salt Water

20 species