Robert K. Rees Memorial Park (at Green Key)

Don’t miss this small but wonderful site on the Gulf of Mexico; more than 240 species of birds have been recorded at this compact peninsular park. A wheelchair-accessible boardwalk leads through the mangroves to a covered overlook on the Gulf. Two small boat ramps are available for launching canoes and kayaks (no fee). Clapper Rails, Reddish Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills are possible year-round, and Gray Kingbirds and Prairie Warblers breed here in summer. Wintering sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns congregate on its beach, and the park has a tendency for remarkable songbird landfall events in spring migration. Get here early–the entrance gate area (nicknamed the “Green Key Funnel”) can be excellent for flocks of spring migrants (including Bobolinks and 26 species of wood-warblers like Yellow, Prothonotary and Blackburnian) which filter through between 6 and 9 AM in April. Black Terns also migrate through the area in spring and fall. Rarities such as White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Cory’s Shearwater, Long-billed Curlew, Razorbill, Sabine’s Gull, Franklin’s Gull, Connecticut Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Shiny Cowbird have been spotted here. No pets are allowed at this site.