The St. George Island area is a world class birding destination. A comprehensive description of birding sites in the area is available online at the Great Florida Birding Trail website. The "Pitcher Plant and Peregrine Cluster" (Map I) of the Panhandle Section Guide details 10 high quality sites in the immediate vicinity. Note that Heron Now adjoins the east edge of the Research Reserve Unit 4 and is 3 miles from the entrance to St. George Island State Park.



The guide also details St. Vincent NWR, St. Joseph Penisula State Park, and St.Marks NWR which are further away but very accessible day trips.

Download Guide to the Panhandle Section of Great Florida Birding Trail

Here are some links to specific sites:

SAINT GEORGE ISLAND STATE PARK

APALACHICOLA RIVER WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL AREA

TATES HELL STATE FOREST

ST VINCENT NWR

STATE JOSEPH PENISULA STATE PARK

APALACHICOLA BLUFFS AND RAVINE PRESERVE

SAINT MARKS NWR

The guide doesn't describe Little St. George Island which is a site accessible only by boat. "Journeys", a local eco-tour shop, offers 1/2 or full day charters to explore various areas of the Apalachicola River estuary including Little St. George and St. Vincent. From our experience the trips have been wonderful. Jeanni offers a variety of adventures including fishing charters, guided eco-trips of bay and river, and powerboat/sailboat /kayak rentals.

JOURNEYS

Another favorite attraction is the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve headquarters located in Apalachicola. The nature center is open to the public and has a wealth of information about the plants and animals found in the area. There is an aquarium facility with simulations of three aquatic habitats in the reserve(river, bay, and gulf). The Nature walk is becoming an established site among area birders.

APALACHICOLA NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE

PADDLING THE PANHANDLE-FLORIDA'S APALACHICOLA BAY
by G.Michael Harmon From Seakayaker Magazine

After I'd spent 20 years paddling the misty fjords of southeast Alaska with its calving tidewater glaciers, mountain-ringed bays and rich marine ecosystem, my experiences with Lower 48 kayaking seemed vapid by comparison. But I was forced to reject my churlish Alaska chauvinism when the vagaries of life washed me ashore on the panhandle of northwest Florida, and I began kayaking Apalachicola Bay.


 

SEE THE ENTIRE TEXT OF THIS GREAT ARTICLE FROM SEA KAYAKER MAGAZINE

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