Florida Keys Area Bird-watching

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National Geographic Guide to Birdwatching Sites, Eastern U.S.

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By now, those with an interest in conservation know the story of Everglades National Park, at once sad and hopeful. Despite its 1.5-million-acre [607,028.5-hectare] size, this portion of the “river of grass” and its inhabitants have suffered enormously from pollution and changes in water flow brought about by agriculture, urban growth, and other human activities. New public awareness, though, has led to massive and far-ranging efforts to restore the Everglades ecosystem. Time will tell of their effectiveness. CONTINUED

- Florida Keys
- Dry Tortugas National Park

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White egrets are often found in marshes and other shallow bodies of water.

Photograph © Gary Braasch/Corbis

Most people get acquainted with the park at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center southwest of Homestead on Florida 9336, or the Royal Palm Visitor Center, 4 miles [6.4 kilometers] farther inside the park. The 0.5-mile [0.8-kilometer] Anhinga Trail at the latter center is excellent for close views of alligators and various waterbirds, including Anhinga, a pelican relative that looks something like a sharp-billed cormorant. Many other waders and waterbirds are found here as well, from Green Heron and Purple Gallinule to White Ibis and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.
As you drive through the park, watch for the South Florida race of Red-shouldered Hawk, smaller and much paler than birds elsewhere in the country. A Swallow-tailed Kite, one of the world’s most beautiful and graceful raptors, may sail overhead during spring and summer. But the bird of prey most sought after here is Short-tailed Hawk, a small Buteo (the same genus as Red-shouldered and Red-tailed) that often eludes visiting birders. Short-tailed is easier—though not necessarily easy—to find in winter when birds from farther north migrate to the tip of the Florida peninsula. Take time to check all soaring hawks and vultures; Short-tailed often soars quite high, above other birds.
One of the most famous birding locales in Everglades National Park is Snake Bight Trail, a couple of miles past the canoe ramp and rest rooms at West Pond. One reason it’s famous, unfortunately, is its almost indescribably dreadful mosquitoes. (In truth, this could apply to nearly all the Everglades from spring through fall, but birders suffer the plague most often here.) The 2-mile [3.2-kilometer] trail leads alongside an old borrow ditch to Snake Bight (a shallow bay), which, short of taking a boat out into Florida Bay, is the likeliest place in the United States to see Greater Flamingo. High tide pushes the birds closer to shore to feed, making them easier to sight, and the birds are seen most often from late summe r through midwinter. Don’t be fooled by Roseate Spoonbills, which are smaller with a much longer bill. The origin of these flamingos has long been debated, with continuing disagreement over whether they’re truly wild or descendants of birds escaped from captivity. Snake Bight is also a good place to see throngs of herons, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and Black Skimmers, again with high tide being by far the best time to visit—otherwise the birds will be far out on the mudflats in the heat haze.
White-crowned Pigeon, an attractive South Florida specialty, is seen often here. Mangrove Cuckoo, one of Florida’s most prized birds, also occurs, but is quite elusive—hard to see even when located by its call. If you miss this species on your first trip to Florida, you’ll be joining a very large club; just think of it as an excuse to come back again.
At the park’s Flamingo Visitor Center, at the end of the main park road on the shore of Florida Bay, look for the white-plumaged form of Great Blue Heron, once considered a separate species. Its larger size, body shape, and leg color (yellow, not black, for “Great White Heron”) help distinguish it from Great Egret. Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Osprey, Bald Eagle, and a variety of shorebirds are likely, and in winter this is another spot to watch for Short-tailed Hawk.
Shiny Cowbird, a rarity found sporadically throughout Florida and occasionally seen here, is a recent invader from the Caribbean that is not illustrated in most field guides. The male is shiny purplish in color; the female is very difficult to differentiate from the common Brown-headed Cowbird Female. Check around the campground and other grassy areas for this irregularly occurring species.
Near Homestead and Cutler Ridge, south of Miami, watch from February through summer for Cave Swallows, which nest very locally in highway culverts and under bridges in the area. These birds belong to the distinct West Indian race of Cave Sw allow, darker on the undersides and on the rump than the southwestern race, which may someday be designated as a separate species. One favorite spot is near the S.W. 216th Street overpass of Florida’s Turnpike (Florida 821).

Florida Keys

The white ibis uses its long legs to wade through its swampy habitat.

Photograph © Lynda Richardson/Corbis

Begin your exploration of the Florida Keys by taking Card Sound Road east from US 1 at Florida City, crossing the bridge to north Key Largo and Florida 905. Because of criminal activity (not only drug smuggling but, perhaps surprisingly, theft of the state’s rare plants, butterflies, and even snails) law-enforcement officers are very strict about trespassing in this area. Bird only along roads unless public access is clearly permitted, such as at a short nature trail at the botanic site less than a half-mile east of the intersection with US 1. Black-whiskered Vireo and Mangrove Cuckoo nest here, and White-crowned Pigeon can be common except in winter. Gray Kingbird is frequent along the highway in spring and summer.
Continuing south, you’ll find Ospreys nesting along the road, and “Great White Heron” may be seen along the shore anywhere. Keep an eye out for soaring Magnificent Frigatebird, as well as Short-tailed Hawk in winter. In summer, the airport at Marathon can be a good spot for one of the keys’ specialty birds, the Antillean Nighthawk, active beginning just before sunset. Though slightly smaller than Common Nighthawk, Antillean is best distinguished by its insectlike call, usually described as pity-pit-pit. Check Sombrero Beach Park for Burrowing Owl, a declining species in Florida. The Marathon golf course also has a few nesting pairs.
At Sugarloaf Key, turn south at the blinking light at Milepost 17 and drive west at a T intersection; turn right and follow County Road 939A to its end. This drive passes through extensive mangrove habitat good for spotting White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Gray Kingbird, and Black-whiskered Vireo. Check periodically all along the way.
As you approach Key West (and quite literally the end of the road), the parking lot at Florida Keys Junior College on Stock Key provides perhaps the best chance to find Antillean Nighthawk (especially at dusk). On Key West itself, the s pecies feeds at night over the Key West airport, in the southeastern part of the island. Roseate Tern, a bird with a very limited and disjunct breeding range in the United States, nests in the lower keys and should be looked for from April through summer anywhere you find terns gathering; Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site is a favorite spot.

Dry Tortugas National Park

The massive bulk of Fort Jefferson rises up from Garden Key, one of the islands in Dry Tortugas National Park.

Photograph © Phillip Gould/Corbis

Dry Tortugas National Park, 68 miles [109.4 kilometers] west into the Gulf of Mexico from Key West, comprises seven tiny islands and about 100 square miles [256 square kilometers] of ocean. The park centers on Garden Key and Fort Jefferson, a massive mid-19th-century fort never used in wartime. Most birders visit in spring, when an astonishing variety of migrants use these islands as a rest stop and several localized breeding specialties can be found.
Visiting the Dry Tortugas is slightly more complicated than other excursions in this chapter, since you must arrange either a boat or seaplane trip. The best way to go is with a bird-tour company, several of which offer three-day boat trips that allow close reconnaissance of the islands, as well as the chance to see seabirds en route (including such species as Audubon’s Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Pomarine Jaeger, and Bridled Tern). You can also set up a one-day trip with a boat or seaplane operating under a National Park Service permit; contact the park office for a list.
The Dry Tortugas definitely rank on the short list of top U.S. birding sites. Sooty Tern and Brown Noddy nest by the thousands on Bush Key, just 200 yards [182.9 meters] or so from Garden Key. A few Black Noddies may also be found here, but are much more difficult to see. Lucky birders sometimes find a Black Noddy perched on the old coaling docks on Garden Key, allowing comparison with its abundant relative.
Magnificent Frigatebird and Masked Booby breed in the Dry Tortugas. The former is easily seen at Garden Key, but the latter is usually identified only on boat trips, as it nests on Hospital Key about a mile [1.6 kilometers] or so away. Brown Booby, while not a local nester, is sometimes seen around Garden Key roosting on buoys; its relative the Red-footed Booby is much rarer. The graceful White-tailed Tropicbird is seen as a very rare flyover.
In spring migration, thousands of trans-Gulf migrants use t he Dry Tortugas as a rest stop. Good days (when north winds and/or rain make the ocean crossing difficult) can turn Garden Key into something resembling an overstocked aviary. Naturally, all this activity attracts raptors, so it’s not unusual to find a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, or Peregrine Falcon trying to pick up an easy lunch. Such South Florida specialties as Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, and Shiny Cowbird are regularly found here as well.