Please help UK bird watcher (1 Viewer)

Hi

I'm from the UK and looking to come to Florida with my family in May. My family want to go to the Theme Parks which I don't mind doing but as we are their for 2 weeks I would like to go do some bird watching whilst here.

However I don't know where to go. I would very much like some suggestions around Orlando area. I would also like to go a coastal area. If it helps with suggestions the birds I would like to see are Herons, Birds of Prey and warblers. I want to see as many birds as I can find, so I come back to the UK with a really impressive list.

One of the places I've been looking at is Corkscrew Swamp, it does look interesting and I feel it needs a visit. The website didn't say whether their is a price to enter?

Also looking for a bird I.D guide any suggestions? I have found this one on amazon Birds of North America (Collins Field Guide) [Hardcover]

On a different note I would like to find reptiles and again some help with this if possible.

There's a number of articles in Opus for places to visit in Florida, which you might like to have a look through till someone else arrives with more information for you.

I hope you have a great time SB.

To be honest, if this is your first time in the States, pretty much anywhere can be good. When I went a few years back some of the best birding was around the hotel grounds that was situated on a lake. Otherwise, Gatorland is excellent for the heronry, a trip out to Merritt Island and Cape Canaverel is a must and Brinson Park, Kissimmee is superb for Snail Kites.
As far as books go, you won't go far wrong with Sibley's Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America.

Phil

Merritt Island is an excellent place to vist, about an hour from Orlando. Once there try & do the Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, a 7-mile one way system with stopping off points at various places.

Gatorland is good, but they've now installed a zip-wire ride which runs right through the "rookery". We also booked a private air boat ride at Boggey Creeke Airboat Rides when we were last there in 2010 - good for Bald Eagle & Snail Kite.

Have a look at the Great Florida Birsding Trail website for other suggestions.

Richard

Even birding around the Disney grounds is better than you'd think. Walk the paths around Fort Wilderness Campground, the golf course paths around Saratoga Springs and Old Key West, the pathway around Bay Lake between the Ticket & Transportation Center and Magic Kingdom, the path from Disney's Hollywood Studios to Epcot Center, and so on. You can take busses and boats to ANY Disney hotel or resort from any of the parks, even if not staying there...you are free to walk the grounds and many of the hotels have walking trails to the theme park they are closest to.

I just returned from Disney last week, and go usually every couple of months. I just casually observe birds while there, with no dedicated lengths of time spent birding, but still can count an extraordinary number of species just from the incidental walking around on Disney grounds. Just as an idea, I spotted the following (an incomplete list) this past weekend: bald eagle, red-shouldered hawk, northern harrier, house finch, tree swallow, northern cardinal, blue jay, palm warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, eastern phoebe, double-crested cormorant, pied-billed grebe, anhinga, mallard duck, mottled duck, great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, great blue heron, little blue heron, green heron, white ibis, vulture, white pelican, laughing gull, ring billed gull, royal tern, moorhen, American coot, northern mockingbird...those are not a complete list as I'm simply going by memory and wasn't actively birding. I've gone in the past where I've taken part of a day to really go hunting for birds and found as many as 50 species in an afternoon. Some stood out this time as I wasn't really expecting to see them - like the bald eagle that dive bombed some moorhens right in the middle of the boat dock pond in front of the Dolphin Hotel while I was walking over to the bus stop (I got a crappy shot of it with my mirrorless cam and the 40mm prime which was the lens I had mounted at the time)...
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/148702313/original

Even not trying, you will see a good 25-30 species around the Disney grounds, including quite a few in the theme parks themselves (most of them have significant water bodies and features and quite a bit of greenery). Green heron and egrets are usually in the China exhibit at Epcot, the main Epcot lake will have a variety of water birds, Frontierland in Magic Kingdom is always loaded with gulls, terns, egrets, and ibises, Animal kingdom always gets plenty of Florida birds hanging out in the animal pen areas taking advantage of the food - from hawks and pelicans to egrets, herons, and ducks.

Sites from the Orlando area which are reasonably close/worth the drive in May for specialties:

Merritt Island NWR: probably the best birding site in Brevard, with a drive around Black Point Drive being a must. The Oak Hammock, Scrub-Jay, and Bio-lab road areas can also be productive. Species to be expected include Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, herons/egrets (Reddish Egret), Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, various shorebirds, terns, Black Skimmer, and Florida Scrub-Jay among other more widespread species.

Viera Wetlands: Purple Gallinule, Crested Caracara, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, more herons/egrets.

Lake Kissimmee State Park/Three Lakes WMA: A drive to Lake Kissimmee State Park in May should be well worthwhile, with sightings of Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey, and Crested Caracara along the way. The park itself has Swallow-tailed Kite, Florida Scrub-Jay, Northern Bobwhite, Summer Tanager (summer breeder), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (summer breeder), Northern Parula, Great Crested Flycatcher, and White-eyed Vireo.

Three Lakes (particularly the hunter's campground) is very reliable for Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, and Bachman's Sparrow.

I do not recommend Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in May. The issue with May is that migration is already rapidly coming to an end in Florida, and by the second week of May, most of the warbler diversity has already bypassed the state to points north. If you are willing to make the drive to Corkscrew, perhaps San Felasco Preserve just north of Gainesville is a better bet as it does have more summer breeders that you may be looking for... Mississippi Kite, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Hooded Warbler are pretty near the southern limit of their summer range here.

As a rule of thumb, I would not worry about visiting too many wetland sites in Florida. Herons, egrets, ibis, and most other wetland birds will be everywhere.

Seeing a large variety of woodland birds will be a bit trickier in May, however. From around Gainesville and points south, the following warblers are breeders: Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler (coastal mangroves, common further south in this habitat), Yellow Warbler (the Cuban race is locally common in the southern tip of the state and Florida Keys), Hooded Warbler (southern limit is around Gainesville), Prothonotary Warbler (local). I might have forgotten a couple in this list.

Hope this helps,

Carlos

Mead Gardens and Orlando Wetlands

Some more suggestions: Mead Park in Winter Park and Orlando Wetlands.

Field guide. Sibleys guide to eastern birds. Also check online for great Florida birding trail. Great source of info. Guide for phone. Ibird pro. All locations listed are excellent choices. Might also want to join e-bird will allow your review sightings for time frame you will be in Florida so you have a better idea where to spend time. Can also request rare bird alerts for the area. Good luck

Hi

In case its of any use to you, there's a trip report from my visit to central Florida last year here on my blog http://poppyland-nature.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_01_archive.html

Obviously its for an earlier time of year (March) but it does detail a few sites around the Orlando area which may be helpful, as well as details of a couple of trips over to both coasts.

A full species list Birds, Butterflies, Dragonflies etc can be found at the end and there's loads of photos to whet your appetite for the trip too!

Regards

Simon

Definitely Merritt Island. If you come as far south as West Palm Beach, let me know there are some good local places here (Green Cay, Wakodahatchee, etc..).

Also if you get to the southeast coast you might try Sanibel Island for the shells and for Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.

Agreed the Merrit island wildlife refuge and the Orlando wetlands park.

http://nbbd.com/godo/orlandowetlands/

Disney parks hold no end of birding opportunities,you will get green heron,great white egret,great blue heron,snowy egret,cattle egret,white ibis all to within 4foot (I kid you not!!).

Contact these guys and do a swamp ride http://www.kissimmeeswamptours.com/ (check them out on trip advisor)we have done a few with them over the years,you should get sandhill crane,loggerhead shrike,snail kite,bald eagle,osprey,least bittern (if you are lucky) gallinulle as well as loads of other goodies.On the way into the site you will drive along a track/road called 'Joe Overstreet road' its awesome birding all along it!!

I went in August so may not be totally relevant but I agree with the recommendations of Merritt Island, Three Lakes WMA, Joe Overstreet Road & Orlando Wetlands Park as sites to be high on your list.

The rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is getting a lot of action. Lots of Great Egrets already nesting and the smaller waders won't be far behind them. The Alligator Farm allows you to get closer to wild birds in large numbers than any other place I know of.

Sellyoak birder,

I'm there early May and will also spend some time out photographing some birds. Looking forward to it

here is a link to a book, which I recently brought to Florida. I found it very helpful and includes some species you are likely to see. http://www.amazon.com/Birding-Florida-Prime-Sites-Locations/dp/0762739142

Also Ive you want up to date info about some of these places, the listerve BRDBRAIN is ver helpful. http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/listserv/wa.exe?A0=BRDBRAIN

Hope this helps
Cameron

www.floridabirdingtrail.com

the trip planning wizard is particularly useful.

If you need any specific questions answered I am happy to help. My email address is included in the above website.

good luck and I hope you have a fantastic trip. I loved my birding trip to Florida so much I stayed and got married!