Monday, February 25, 2013

SW Florida Birding Locations

The best first resource for birding all of Florida is The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT). For sites near Marco Island, visit the following links from the GFBWT:
 Our favorites of these sites are as follows:

#1 Shark Valley, K78 - Birds are so confiding. Purple Gallinule close. We did the 15 mile bike loop trail. It was long, but unique. However, best birds are within walking distance of the visitor center.

#2 Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, J75 - Best part of this state park is the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Trail. It is an isolated remnant of old growth Cypress that is truly magnificent. Easily viewed Bald Eagle nest site for Dec to Feb visits.

#3 Tigertail Beach Park, I73 - We had 5 species of Plover in one visit, Wilson's, Piping, Snowy, Semipalmated, and Black-bellied. Again, all birds so confiding. Visit early morning at low tide if possible, but late afternoon also works. Walk north from the access. If it gets mucky, you can find some minimal trails back through the mangroves to some tail grassy paths, and get back to sandy flats. No need for a scope, but bring your camera!

#4 Eagle Lakes Community Park, I70 - Most all herons very close, Wood Storks and Osprey close, easy walking on paved path. Best early and NOT on weekend.


South West Florida Birding

The Burrowing Owl pic in last blog post was taken on Marco Island, Florida. Marco is the northern most of the Ten Thousand Islands, which are part of the Everglades. To me, one of the most noteworthy things about birding in Florida, is how confiding most of the birds are. A few examples of this, from top to bottom: Barred Owl, Black Skimmer, Anhinga and Green Heron, all taken with a Nikon 70-300 mm lens, and cropped very little, if at all.



In the next post, I will summarize locations Sally and I have birded on one day trips from Marco Island.