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Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 12 - 16, 2003 in Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
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Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 12 - 16, 2003 in Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
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Today's typical Florida tourist prefers kayaks to golf carts; enjoys sweat and wind in her hair; and favors live animals over animated ones. The face of Florida tourism is changing ... and it has feathers.
Where this phenomenon collided with Florida's incredible diversity of birds, the Great Florida Birding Trail was born. Spanning 18 counties from the Georgia border to Lake Okeechobee, the East Florida Section opened in November 2000; West Florida stretches from Tampa Bay to Georgia, and opened in November 2002. Panhandle and South Florida are expected to open in 2004 and 2005, respectively. And boy, are the birders coming! Nearly 125,000 trail guides for each section are distributed annually, to requests from 50 states and seven foreign countries. The Trail's strength lies in its diversity: sites range from rustic to developed; short stops to all-day affairs; seasonal experiences to year-round.
The following are a sample of the Birding Trail's sites.
For more info or to request guides to East or West Florida, visit www.floridabirdingtrail.com, or call (850) 488-8755.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Titusville, FL. This site not only offers fabulous birding year-round, it also acts as a Birding Trail Gateway site, or hub for Birding Trail information. Check the visitor center for info, Black Point Wildlife Drive for reddish egrets and winter waterfowl, and keep an eye on telephone wires throughout the Refuge—a favorite hangout for Florida scrub-jays! Its proximity to the Kennedy Space Center and peaceful Canaveral National Seashore make it a winning family destination too!
Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and Joe Overstreet Road. Just south of St. Cloud, FL. In the proverbial backyard of the Orlando attractions, this is the site of Florida's whooping crane reintroduction project and is also home to crested caracaras, wild turkeys, wood storks, snail kites and red-cockaded woodpeckers (among others). Drive Overstreet Rd. to Lake Kissimmee, scanning the whole way; Three Lakes offers an interpretive wildlife drive worth taking. Tip: Red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees on the WMA are ringed with white paint for monitoring purposes.
Ft. DeSoto County Park. Just south of St. Petersburg, FL. Mudflats, dynamic beachfront and secluded bays make this park a waterfowl wonder for gulls, terns, ducks, shorebirds like marbled godwits, and wading birds like roseate spoonbills. In October and April, it's also one of Florida's premier migrant sites for songbirds like Swainson's and black-throated blue warblers, ovenbirds, and veeries among others! Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Just south of Gainesville, FL. A stone's throw from Interstate 75, this wetland system supports thousands of wintering sandhill cranes, ancient-looking wood storks and more! Sparrow diversity is high on the winter grasslands and the oak margins along the rim of the basin shelter migrants like black-and-white warblers and hermit thrushes. Paynes Prairie is also a Birding Trail Gateway site, and like all gateways, has optics available for loan at the visitor center.
The goal of the Great Florida Birding Trail is to conserve and enhance Florida's bird habitat by promoting birdwatching, conservation education and economic opportunity. Birder dollars help communities recognize the value of their wildlands, and encourage conservation. This is a project of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with support from the Florida Department of Transportation.
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