What are the best months for birding in southern Florida?
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I’ve been a resident of Florida since 1990 to 2001 and have done photography for the last five years. I lived in Fort Myers and the best spots for birds in this area, in my opinion, are Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Turner River Road in the Everglades and Ding Darling. Yes, you will need a long lens in some cases for these areas. The birds in Ding Darling are especially used to humans so if you are careful you can get close to them.
I’ve seen most areas of Florida and am particularly interested in photographing birds so it’s important for me to know the greatest spot for birds. I believe the best spot to be in St. Augustine on the east coast of Florida at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Keep in mind that these birds are NOT on display or caged, they are free. There is a boardwalk within the Farm that takes one through an amazing rookery. Here you can find great, snowy, and cattle egrets, blue, great blue, tri-colored, and little green herons. The rookery is protected by hundreds of alligators so there are no other natural predators around to scare the mating and nesting birds from the rookery. The nesting birds are right next to the boardwalk. In most cases you can almost reach out and touch the birds. (DON’T do it though as the “Rangers” will be around to reprimand you!) Here I have even used a macro lens to get close-ups of some of the baby chicks. My favorite chick is the tri-colored heron.
In the beginning of May you will see displaying and mating birds. In mid-May you will find nesting birds and baby chicks. At the end of May most of the displaying is over but there are hundreds of chicks of all ages from new born to three weeks old.
A lot of professional photographers go to St. Augustine to take advantage of the nesting birds. The only drawback is there are a lot of sticks in the nests and the set up for shots has to be strategically placed! But a good photographer can work around anything!
Room rates in May are off-season meaning they are much cheaper than the seasonal rates so you can get some great deals. Be aware that it is WARM in May here in Florida.
You can purchase a photographer’s pass at the Alligator Farm that will allow you to enter the Farm at around 8:00 a.m., before the regular visitors arrive and to take best advantage of the light. This pass also allows one to stay past the 6:00 p.m. deadline to leave.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm is on the internet and located at:
http://www.alligatorfarm.com
At this site you can sign up for updates to the rookery so that you will know what’s going on during the bird mating and nesting season. It’s absolutely fabulous and if one vacations in Florida to “shoot” the birds, it’s a MUST SEE!