Sanibel Island/South Florida Birding

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rshean

rshean

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Hello everyone, I'm flying into Fort Myers the first week in December and I'm planning on getting some bird/wildlife photography done. I'll definitely be visiting Ding Darling, is there anywhere else I should have on my list? I'm bringing along my 600mm f4 and 300mm f4 pf with TC. This is my first trip to Florida so any guidance is appreciated. Thanks!
 
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Hi…we live in North Fort Myers. Harriet and her mate M15 (bald eagles) are back on their nest…google Fort Myers Eaglecam and it will show up. The nest is right on FL-78 Bayshore Road just east of the corner with Slater Road and about 2 miles east from the intersection of 78 and US-41 Tamiami Trail. Park in the Church of the Nazarene lot on the north side just east of the Publix shopping center.

Other good places…

Sanibel is really crowded and parking is scarce so I would personally skip it. A few miles north on 75 at the Tucker's Grade exit is Babcock Webb Preserve which has (if it's the right time of year) Red Headed Woodpeckers which are pretty rare. There's also the Venice Rookery up the coast a few miles in Venice, Myaka State Park up near Sarasota, and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary although all of those are a drive of most of an hour from Fort Myers. Further afield…halfway across 75 towards Miami just east of the Miccosukee Reservation Casino is Shark Valley. It is part of Everglades Nat Park and has a tram you can ride on or you an hike or bike the 14 mile paved tram path for birds and gators.

Myaka has some nice hiking paths, Corkscrew has a boardwalk so you stay dry…although in December the water might still be too high to allow maximum wading bird population. Venice Rookery is essentially in downtown and is a little island in a lake about an acre or two in size so you can get pretty close.

Then there's the "this is Florida, there is water everywhere and birds and gators are accessible just about any place. I was on my bike ride this morning…along US-41 in a sort of out of town but not in the boonies residential area…and in 8 miles saw a half dozen ibis, another dozen assorted herons mostly Great Blue and Great Egrets along the canal…also our local Swallow Tailed Kite, and an immature Bald Eagle along with a couple of hawks that were too far away to easily identify.

I don't know how much time you'll have to devote to birding…if not too much then I would do Harriet/M15 and Venice Rookery for highest probability of species abundance. Next would be Corkscrew (assuming it's open again, I'm not sure about their hours currently) and then Babcock Webb but it's sort of hit or miss and if the Red Headed are not there it's mostly hawks, buzzards, and songbirds.
 
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As Neil said above, Plus Check out the Library in Cape Coral for burrowing owls, the rookery in Venice has always provide me with some great shots. Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary would defiantly be on my list (got some great shots of a barred owl there and some other birds... but the coolest / scariest thing was having a panther run down the boardwalk.. I lived in Ft Myers 10 1/2 years ... try to get back once a year... It's a birding paradise. you can go anywhere and find something to shoot.
Oh there is a Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary in sarasota as well, I've never been to it, but it's on my list to visit next trip.

Lovers key state park can be good but getting there and getting off the island can be ugly
 
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Sanibel Island.....We were there 3 years ago in March. There were plenty of people there (spring break) but we had a good enough experience at the Ding Darling Reserve that we came back the next day as well. Got some nice bird photos and there was an active osprey nest very near the road. I spent hours there with a monopod waiting for "the good stuff". If you have a senior's Nat'l Park Pass entry to Darling is free. All around, I think I'd have to say that the Everglades provided the most opportunities for bird shots though. Corkscrew was pretty darn good for me the second time I was there. Not so much the first time. There's always a certain amount luck involved with wildlife.
 
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DripDryMcFleye said:
Sanibel Island.....We were there 3 years ago in March. There were plenty of people there (spring break) but we had a good enough experience at the Ding Darling Reserve that we came back the next day as well. Got some nice bird photos and there was an active osprey nest very near the road. I spent hours there with a monopod waiting for "the good stuff". If you have a senior's Nat'l Park Pass entry to Darling is free. All around, I think I'd have to say that the Everglades provided the most opportunities for bird shots though. Corkscrew was pretty darn good for me the second time I was there. Not so much the first time. There's always a certain amount luck involved with wildlife.
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Those osprey have been there forever! and your very correct about timing with wildlife. the nice thing about Florida is there are just places everywhere to go though.
 
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I second Gordon's suggestion of Lover's Key State Park. We stayed there a couple of years ago (Sanibel the year before that) and Lover's Key was thriving. We were there for a week in mid-January. The condo we were in looked directly down into the bay and many variety of birds flew by our 4th story condo all day. Dolphins would also play and surface right below us. There was a small, natural pool directly beside the road just outside the Lover's Key Resort entrance and it was always occupied by Spoonbills, Ibis, Egrets, etc. I even had an Osprey land in a tree right beside the pool, about 20' high. Also agree that Corkscrew can be good.
 
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The Six Mile Cypress, which is near the airport can be really neat. It has a raised boardwalk over the classic, local swamp. As a kid, many, many years ago it had one of the scariest haunted walks I ever went to for halloween. You do get a great mix of water life and bird life.

If you can get in a boat, there are lot of great islands. I think it is part of the 10,000 islands region. There are touristy trips to Cabbage Key and Usepa that are great. Charters will get you to other neat areas.
 
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Bunche Beach Preserve just before you get to Sanibel is one of my favorites. Better than Ding Darling because it is easier to get down low and usually the same variety of birds. Check it out.
 
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I went many times to Ding Darling and I got the best results using a kayak, even if it's not always easy dealing with the tides; wading birds being more abondant in some parts of those habitats at low tide.
 
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