Wildlife Viewing Site - Tyndall Air Force Base Wildlife Viewing

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Tyndall Air Force Base

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Description:
Tyndall is an active military base covering 29,000 acres on a peninsula adjoining the Gulf of Mexico. The base features freshwater marshes, pine flatwoods, pitcher plant bogs, sand pine scrub, tidal pools, and beaches bordering a bay. Warbler's Way is a quarter-mile elevated boardwalk that threads past an active rookery of some 200 pairs of herons and egrets. Deer Run Nature Trail rambles about a mile through various upland habitats. The nearest town is Panama City.

Watchable wildlife:
Egrets and herons nest in the Warbler's Way rookery from May through September. In March and April, the area around the boardwalk abounds with migrating songbirds. At East End Beach, look for dozens of species of shorebirds, including black skimmers, American oystercatchers, snowy plovers, and piping plovers. Loggerhead sea turtles nest on this beach on summer nights, and you may be fortunate enough to watch the baby sea turtles escape from their nest and dash toward the sea in late summer. Call the Natural Resources office for more information.

Ownership:
U.S. Air Force

Contact:
(850) 283-2641

Directions:
Tyndall Air Force Base is ten miles east of Panama City on U.S. Highway 98. Drive 0.25 mile and stop at the visitor's checkpoint for a pass.

Warbler's Way is 4.0 miles west on Sabre Drive on the right. To visit Deer Run, take the first left after the checkpoint, drive 0.5 mile to the natural resources building on the right. The trail begins behind the building.

East End Beach is one mile west of Mexico Beach on U.S. Highway 98.

Related Sites:
Other North West Florida Wildlife Sites
Florida State Parks