Florida: Birders' Paradise

Nov 27, 2008 10:32pm

chris robinson 10 post(s)

I’m new to Birdpost this month. But for those who don’t know, Florida is full of great birding sites. Among the top South Florida sites are Ding Darling Preserve on Sanibel Island near Ft Myers, Loxahatchee NWR in southwestern Palm Beach County,Shark Valley(a part of the Everglades Ntl Park)on US 41, and the Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary east of Ft Myers. But even within an 8-mile radius from my home 15 miles west of Ft Lauderdale, I’ve spotted over 75 different species, and still counting.

Nov 28, 2008 3:24pm

Mary Dodge 38 post(s)

Let me second Chris’ enthusiasm for birding in Florida. There are lots of web sites about about the various locations, including one I do for our local Audubon http://stlucieaudubon.org/

To see a slide show of some, but certainly not all, of the birds you’ll see in Florida, checkout http://stlucieaudubon.org/images/SLCBirds.wmv for a .wmv video or on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agIBDNJ68xU (lesser quality). It’s about St. Lucie County, but the birds are seen pretty much throughout Florida.

Dec 1, 2008 6:04pm

Kirsten Wahl... 6 post(s)

Agreed! I moved to Florida back in February, and love the birding here! I live in the Orlando area (one of those Disney people ;)) and the amount of birds I see just in an average day alone is great.

(Seriously, Disney needs to build a good nature trail on Walt Disney World property. The amount of birds you could spot there…)

Dec 2, 2008 12:57pm

chris robinson 10 post(s)

There is a 2.5 mile loop trail in the Disney Wilderness Preserve maintained by the Nature Conservancy. See info about the trail on this 12,000 acre site at “nature.org”. Eagle sightings are common Kirsten. I’ve also had good wildlife sightings walking/running the paved trails between the Disney Wilderness Lodge and the Disney camping areas.

Dec 12, 2008 10:38pm

Mary Dodge 38 post(s)

Checked out new birding site for us, Bear Point Sanctuary on Hutchinson Island, near Fort Pierce, FL. (St. Lucie County). Worth a trip for those in area, not a special visit. Did get a lifer for both of us, White-rumped Sandpiper.

Feb 25, 2009 7:03pm

Mary Dodge 38 post(s)

I’m so proud of our little local county of St. Lucie County, Florida. They’re really good about preserving lands for birding and other nature uses (and, yes, some hunting). Look at this impressive list of county preserves … http://www.stlucieco.gov/erd/nature_preserves.htm

We’re checking out another one tomorrow, inspired by one of the members of the local Audubon, who keeps supplying us with photographic evidence of the rich birding opportunities here … http://stlucieaudubon.org/photos.htm , including a recent series of Snail Kite photos.

Nov 27, 2008 10:32pm chris robinson 10 post(s)	I’m new to Birdpost this month. But for those who don’t know, Florida is full of great birding sites. Among the top South Florida sites are Ding Darling Preserve on Sanibel Island near Ft Myers, Loxahatchee NWR in southwestern Palm Beach County,Shark Valley(a part of the Everglades Ntl Park)on US 41, and the Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary east of Ft Myers. But even within an 8-mile radius from my home 15 miles west of Ft Lauderdale, I’ve spotted over 75 different species, and still counting.

Nov 28, 2008 3:24pm Mary Dodge 38 post(s)	Let me second Chris’ enthusiasm for birding in Florida. There are lots of web sites about about the various locations, including one I do for our local Audubon http://stlucieaudubon.org/ To see a slide show of some, but certainly not all, of the birds you’ll see in Florida, checkout http://stlucieaudubon.org/images/SLCBirds.wmv for a .wmv video or on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agIBDNJ68xU (lesser quality). It’s about St. Lucie County, but the birds are seen pretty much throughout Florida.

Dec 1, 2008 6:04pm Kirsten Wahl... 6 post(s)	Agreed! I moved to Florida back in February, and love the birding here! I live in the Orlando area (one of those Disney people ;)) and the amount of birds I see just in an average day alone is great. (Seriously, Disney needs to build a good nature trail on Walt Disney World property. The amount of birds you could spot there…)

Dec 2, 2008 12:57pm chris robinson 10 post(s)	There is a 2.5 mile loop trail in the Disney Wilderness Preserve maintained by the Nature Conservancy. See info about the trail on this 12,000 acre site at “nature.org”. Eagle sightings are common Kirsten. I’ve also had good wildlife sightings walking/running the paved trails between the Disney Wilderness Lodge and the Disney camping areas.

Dec 12, 2008 10:38pm Mary Dodge 38 post(s)	Checked out new birding site for us, Bear Point Sanctuary on Hutchinson Island, near Fort Pierce, FL. (St. Lucie County). Worth a trip for those in area, not a special visit. Did get a lifer for both of us, White-rumped Sandpiper.

Feb 25, 2009 7:03pm Mary Dodge 38 post(s)	I’m so proud of our little local county of St. Lucie County, Florida. They’re really good about preserving lands for birding and other nature uses (and, yes, some hunting). Look at this impressive list of county preserves … http://www.stlucieco.gov/erd/nature_preserves.htm We’re checking out another one tomorrow, inspired by one of the members of the local Audubon, who keeps supplying us with photographic evidence of the rich birding opportunities here … http://stlucieaudubon.org/photos.htm , including a recent series of Snail Kite photos.

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