St. Marks NWR is directly south of Tallahassee Florida with its southern border on the gulf of Mexico. Established in 1931, this 80,000 acre reserve has 43 miles of gulf shoreline. Of the many species of birds in the reserve, bald eagles are the ones to see, if you are lucky. Many east coast eagles migrate down to this reserve in winter to lay their eggs and raise their eaglets. There are three nests visible from the main road, but we didn’t see any eagles. We started our visit at the southern tip at the St Marks Lighthouse. There is a pool (pond) next to the lighthouse where you can see fish, crabs, and many birds. We also hiked around Tower Pond. A real birder’s heaven.