Birds
About
What a hoot, so to speak, to be asked to travel and write about Florida's beautiful birds. Following The Great Florida Birding Trail led me to a series of unforgettable encounters and an eye-opening education. Previously, the only bird watching I had done was in my own backyard in southwest Florida. But I didn't know what I was looking at, albeit enjoying. After having visited just a few Trail sites, I now proudly identify my pileated woodpeckers, black-bellied whistling ducks, red-shouldered hawks, great egrets and great blue herons, white ibises, limpkins, wood storks, roseate spoonbills and more.
One of the wonderful aspects of The Great Florida Birding Trail is that even a novice can't help but be enriched by birding its carefully chosen sites. The bonus is being immersed in nature, learning about Florida's diverse habitats and experiencing local flavor as well as wildlife. The 2,000-mile driving tour includes more than 500 birding locations, from beautiful beaches to lost-in-time wetlands and stunning state parks.
The Trail is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, supported in part by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Wildlife Foundation of Florida. It divides the state into four sections: East, West, South and Panhandle. Some sites are designed for drive-by viewing, others encourage parking your car and hiking, boating or bicycling.
I'm told by old friend and Audubon activist, Jeanne Dubi, that I've (unwittingly) transitioned from a novice to an intermediate birder. Here's how it happened.
EAST SECTION
See you later, alligator Not in the case of Gatorland, a seemingly unlikely, yet outstanding Birding Trail site in Orlando. The giant creatures are not shy about making their presence known, in the thousands, at Gatorland's bird rookery. Most people think of the park as just a fun, family attraction, with snake and alligator shows, a petting zoo and exotic birds. But it's the outstanding bird watching opportunities at its ten-acre sanctuary that put it on the Trail's map.
One of Florida's oldest theme parks, Gatorland first attracted its thousands of birds in the early 1990s, when brush was cleared for the alligators and boardwalks were built for visitors. Shortly after, nests started appearing and multiplied exponentially each year. Birds build them just feet above the boardwalks, knowing the reptiles below will protect them by eating natural predators such as raccoons, snakes and bobcats. The only threats are hawks and herons, and of course the alligators, should a fledgling fall in the water while learning to fly, though occasionally a gator will bump a tree to knock down a bird or nest. All's fair in nature - wading birds eat baby alligators just as willingly.
No need for binoculars or even a telephoto lens here. These birds are used to people and perch in trees and shrubs often at eye level. They aren't afraid of humans and even appear to pose, an unlikely occurrence in the wild. The sanctuary hosts nine different species of nesting wading birds, including black-crowned night-herons, great egrets and white ibises, and 13 species of roosting birds, plus migratory species here in fall and early spring. Signs along the boardwalk make identification a snap, as they include photos as well as written descriptions. I had no idea how easy birding here would be when I requested a guide.
Entertainment Director Mike Hileman led my husband and me along the boardwalk, pointing out the cypress trees that host nesting cormorants, anhingas and great blue herons, practically within arms' reach. We wound through a jungle of elderberries, wax myrtles, willows, palmettos and palm trees. Many of them looked as if the tops had been chopped off with a giant hedge-trimmer. Mike told us the birds trim them every March to accommodate their nests.
"The sanctuary is like a flower - it grows and wilts and comes back next year, every year," he explained. "An annual pass gives you the o
