Here on your right is the last of the drive's observation decks — and if you've got it in you to stop just one more time, make it this one, because out here at the wild western end, away from the crowds, is often where the birds put on their finest show. Pull over, step out quiet, and walk onto the deck. Depending on the tide and the season you might catch a pink blush of roseate spoonbills sweeping their strange spatula bills through the shallows; wood storks and white pelicans; herons and egrets stalking the flats; an osprey overhead, or a gator hauled out on the bank.
The secret, as always out here, is low tide — when the water pulls back and lays a buffet of fish and crabs across the exposed mud, and every wading bird for miles comes to the feast. Bring your binoculars, take your time, and let the refuge show you what it's really for. This is the payoff for driving all the way out to the end.
Photo: Quadell · CC BY 3.0
