Florida Wildlife Locations

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Herb Brail

Herb Brail

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I thoroughly enjoyed your "Drinks With Steve" YouTube presentation yesterday. A question raised during the session was, "What are your favorite locations in Florida for wildlife photography?" You quickly rattled off (as you prefaced, "in no particular order") locations such as Circle B Bar Reserve, Fort DeSoto, Merritt Island, Viera Wetlands, Orlando Wetlands in Christmas, FL, Venice Rookery, Wakodahatchee Wetlands, and Green Cay Nature Preserve. Are there particular seasons that are best to visit these areas or perhaps more importantly, seasons to avoid?

Given all we've been through with COVID in 2020, an automobile trip to Florida in early to mid-2021 would be most desirable. What time of year is best to visit any of these locations? With more time to reflect, just how would you rank them? I've looked at each online, but none mention ideal times for viewing or whether any migratory birds are present at any given time during the year.
 
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Ditto for the time frame...gets you breeding plumage and also the water is low enough for the waders to eat. Venice rookery is great and essentially at a small park in downtown. Myakka state park is close and I have gotten great shots there. Further south a bit...Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Shark Valley out in Everglades NP are also sure fire successes.
 
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Joe Overstreet, south of Kissimmee. Be patient here you can see almost anything. Ran into a snail kite here kept flying out and coming back with a snail more than filled the frame D4 500mm. Gatorland (fee) in Orlando. They have extended hours for photographers, you can get close enough that a 70-200 will work nicely for the nesting birds.
 
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Neil Laubenthal said:
Ditto for the time frame...gets you breeding plumage and also the water is low enough for the waders to eat. Venice rookery is great and essentially at a small park in downtown. Myakka state park is close and I e gotten great shots there. Further south a bit...Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Shark Valley out in Everglades NP are also sure fire successes.
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fulltimewanderer said:
Joe Overstreet, south of Kissimmee. Be patient here you can see almost anything. Ran into a snail kite here kept flying out and coming back with a snail more than filled the frame D4 500mm. Gatorland (fee) in Orlando. They have extended hours for photographers, you can get close enough that a 70-200 will work nicely for the nesting birds.
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Regarding the Gatorland suggestion, even if you consider it cheating and not real birding, if you go during the time when the babies are hatching through a few weeks afterwards, it provides a unique experience that you wouldn’t normally get to see. These are wild birds that are very used to people being close and nest just a few feet from the boardwalk. I haven’t gone there in a few years, but was able to watch a great egret chick hatch from the egg at about 8 feet away a few years ago. I would also recommend a visit if you are there at the right time. Birds in Florida are generally a lot less skittish than most other areas I have been.
 
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Herb Brail said:
I thoroughly enjoyed your "Drinks With Steve" YouTube presentation yesterday. A question raised during the session was, "What are your favorite locations in Florida for wildlife photography?" You quickly rattled off (as you prefaced, "in no particular order") locations such as Circle B Bar Reserve, Fort DeSoto, Merritt Island, Viera Wetlands, Orlando Wetlands in Christmas, FL, Venice Rookery, Wakodahatchee Wetlands, and Green Cay Nature Preserve. Are there particular seasons that are best to visit these areas or perhaps more importantly, seasons to avoid?

Given all we've been through with COVID in 2020, an automobile trip to Florida in early to mid-2021 would be most desirable. What time of year is best to visit any of these locations? With more time to reflect, just how would you rank them? I've looked at each online, but none mention ideal times for viewing or whether any migratory birds are present at any given time during the year.
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When you go to Green Cay and Wakodahatchee is would also be wise to stop at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. The three of them are within 5 miles of each other in Boynton Beach Florida.

I don't think anyone said anything about Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area. Dinner Island Ranch is located in Hendry County, 29 miles southwest of Clewiston
It is closer to Cork Screw.
 
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Gary Dietz said:
Great thread with good information, any suggestion for North of Tampa?
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How far North of Tampa? Paynes Prairie in Alachua can be decent for birds, but doesn’t compare to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, Circle B Bar, or some of the other wetlands. It does have a bison heard and some horses roaming around through the gator swamp for something a little different.
 
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abc123brian said:
How far North of Tampa? Paynes Prairie in Alachua can be decent for birds, but doesn’t compare to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, Circle B Bar, or some of the other wetlands. It does have a bison heard and some horses roaming around through the gator swamp for something a little different.
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I have been to Circle B Bar along with Ft Desoto. We stay about 35 miles north of Tampa and I am willing to travel around 1 1/2 hrs.
 
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Gary Dietz said:
I have been to Circle B Bar along with Ft Desoto. We stay about 35 miles north of Tampa and I am willing to travel around 1 1/2 hrs.
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I’ve always liked Circle B Bar. It is one of the bigger areas in central florida for birding. There is a smaller location near Leesburg called Emeralda Marsh Conservation. I went through there earlier this year when I thought Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive was closed for lockdown (didn’t realize it was just closed to cars at the time). It was later in the season and I didn’t see much, but I heard others say it was good earlier. Lake Apopka is also in your driving range and is considered to be in the top 3 places in Florida.
 
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I am heading down in a few weeks. I tend to like the Ft Myers/Naples area. Can hit Venice, Myakka, Corkscrew, Cape Coral (burrowing owls), and Ding Darling. It is all timing as you know. Always best if you were there just yesterday or come back tomorrow ;)
The Rookery is great for breeding plumage and hatchlings. Visit in the morning. GBH, Great Egrets, Cormorants.
I like Ding Darling at first light. Roseate Spoonbills. Reddish Egrets. I like low tide. YMMV.
The Burrowing Owls are special. Morning or evening. I go to Cape Coral but they are in several localities.
Painted Buntings at Corkscrew. Less abundant wildlife IMO but it is a special old growth swamp. Go at opening. Walk slow and you will see what it has to offer. Boardwalk shooting.
Was not happy to get on a plane but those other 8 passengers on the 737 going down must be nervous too !!
 
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i really enjoy the Naples/Marco Island and 10,000 islands into Everglades National Park. We took an excellent private boat for 2 from Chokoloskee Island with Captain Charles Wright Everglades Area Tours
Also enjoy a day or two at Corkscrew Sanctuary + The Big Cypress National Preserve (you can visit Clyde Butcher's gallery in Ochopee... no shortage of options
I captured these shots from the boat with Cap't Wright
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Dmacfarl said:
If you’re in the Sarasota / Bradenton area, Robinson Preserve is an easy spot to get to. Can be a bit crowded .. but lots of birds. And easy walking.
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I'm visiting my parents in Bradenton this week and went to the Robinson Preserve and I agree with your assessment. Also not too far away is the Myakka River state park which was awesome for all sorts of shore birds and gators.
 
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bsinc1962 said:
I'm visiting my parents in Bradenton this week and went to the Robinson Preserve and I agree with your assessment. Also not too far away is the Myakka River state park which was awesome for all sorts of shore birds and gators.
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Yes. A pretty nice place close to the city..
Wish I was there. 35 cm snow in Calgary overnight. Lots of shovelling but very pretty..😊❄️
 
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Sweetwater Wetlands Park on north side of Paynes Prairie and south side of Gainesville is a really productive spot for me. It may be better than Paynes Prairie State Park. If you go up to the Tallahassee area, St. Marks NWR is always a great spot, especially during migration periods.
 
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In East Central Florida, in no particular order, Orlando Wetlands, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Blue Cypress Lake (need to hire a boat), Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Sebastian Inlet and Kissimmee Prairie State Park have all been good spots.

There was a mention of the Viera Wetlands. I live 5 minutes from there and it was my go-to for a long time. However, due to a huge amount of subdivision construction surrounding these wetlands, most of the wildlife has left. My last few walks, I observed no Great Blue Heron nests, very few Ibis, no Egrets - even the gators were scarce. Given the explosion of population in Viera and the impact it has had on the Viera Wetlands, I no longer recommend this as a stop for photographers visiting the area.
 
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TonyB said:
In East Central Florida, in no particular order, Orlando Wetlands, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Blue Cypress Lake (need to hire a boat), Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Sebastian Inlet and Kissimmee Prairie State Park have all been good spots.

There was a mention of the Viera Wetlands. I live 5 minutes from there and it was my go-to for a long time. However, due to a huge amount of subdivision construction surrounding these wetlands, most of the wildlife has left. My last few walks, I observed no Great Blue Heron nests, very few Ibis, no Egrets - even the gators were scarce. Given the explosion of population in Viera and the impact it has had on the Viera Wetlands, I no longer recommend this as a stop for photographers visiting the area.
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Thank you for the information in this area. I am planning a trip for the middle of March and have a snail kite trip booked for Blue Cypress Lake. I am wondering if any of the other locations you mention have Reddish Egrets? And if you have like one area over the area based on best sunrise/morning light?
 
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ProperFrame said:
The Burrowing Owls are special. Morning or evening. I go to Cape Coral but they are in several localities
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Thank you for all the information you shared! I will be in the area second half of March. I noticed that you could purchase maps to owl locations on Cape Coral. Do you recommend this? Or?
 
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KimM said:
Thank you for the information in this area. I am planning a trip for the middle of March and have a snail kite trip booked for Blue Cypress Lake. I am wondering if any of the other locations you mention have Reddish Egrets? And if you have like one area over the area based on best sunrise/morning light?
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Reddish egrets have always been scarce in FL. Just a couple of hundred breeding pairs recorded, so seeing them requires more luck than anything else. I have had a place here for 35 years and have seen a reddish egret twice. Once in DeSoto Park and once in Ding Darling - many yrs ago. So good luck. More troublesome is the fact that the red tide infestations of 18 and 19 have taken a toll on reddish egrets in particular. Ding had a pair who were tagged, but both died this time last year from red tide poisoning. If you are fortunate enough to stumble across one, you will enjoy its fishing technique (spreading its wings to fool the prey before spearing it) and its seemingly manic attitude while fishing. They are beautiful creatures and if you do see one, it is unmistakable
 
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KimM said:
Thank you for all the information you shared! I will be in the area second half of March. I noticed that you could purchase maps to owl locations on Cape Coral. Do you recommend this? Or?
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this was the definitive CC owl map, but it is from several years back and the popularity of these critters has caused the birds to relocate, but they never left CC. I have always had the best luck adjacent to the library. These birds are small and it is illegal (strictly enforced BTW) to get too close. Bring longest glass you own.

 
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RickW said:
They are beautiful creatures and if you do see one, it is unmistakable
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Thank you Rick! I have had the opportunity to watch them...they are so much fun. I am hoping they will still be at Ft. DeSoto but will check any areas they inhabit. We have a state and federal wetlands flyover 4 hours west of Kansas City that I frequent during migration. One year, we had a reddish egret...not sure what blew him that far of course. It was a first. That red tide really killed the fishing in the Rockport Texas area much to my dad's disappointment. I wonder when people will say enough of our chemicalized/over crowded farm practices.
 
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