| |
||
 |
||
| |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Sanibel & Captiva Islands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Advanced Search
Featured Property
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birding Tips
More than 300 species of birds reside full- or part-time on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, so you can catch a glimpse of them any month of the year. You simply need to know when and where to look.
More than 300 species of birds reside full- or part-time on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, so you can catch a glimpse of them any month of the year. You simply need to know when and where to look.
  Pelican |
Birding can be as easy as craning your neck to peer atop trees and telephone poles or slowing down while motoring along highways. Ospreys and eagles frequently build their large nests on poles and trees. Though here year ‘round, you’re more likely to spot them in spring, when their young are born. Make a point of looking to your left and right as you ride (if you’re driving, it’s best to keep your eyes on the road), and you might see roseate spoonbills, wood storks, sand hill cranes and burrowing owls.
The Sanibel Lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island is a prime viewing spot during fall migration in October. Traditionally a resting place for warblers, including the yellow-orange Prothonotary, the lighthouse area is also a great place to see the Peregrine falcon.
American oystercatchers and avocets, among other shore-loving birds, winter at the south end of Fort Myers Beach. And striking swallowtail kites swoop inland, east of U.S. 41, from late spring through early fall.
If you really want to slow down and concentrate on logging your bird sightings, set aside a morning or an entire day to wander through one of the area’s many parks and preserves:
 White ibis |
Caloosahatchee Regional Park’s 1.5-mile riverfront lures blue egrets and great blue herons.
At the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, birders may add purple gallinules, red-shouldered hawks and white ibis to their lifetime lists.
A hotspot for migratory bird populations, J.N. “Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge serves as a temporary stopover for a number of species, including egrets and night herons.
Lovers Key State Park attracts American white pelicans, black-bellied plovers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and other colorful avians.
Go to Lakes Regional Park for opportunities to view anhingas and cormorants.
Named an “Important Bird Area" in 2002, CREW Land and Water Trust encompasses pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks and marshland. Limpkins and turkeys are among the birds who live here.
Rent a kayak to sneak up on an ibis roost at Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve or hike along the boardwalk to the new observation pier for more avian encounters.
Beginning birders and experienced observers will both benefit from Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s weekly “Birding and the Preserves" outings. And at Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium, you can safely admire captive raptors, such as black vultures and crested caracaras.
However you choose to peer at the birds of Fort Myers and Sanibel, whether casually or by the book, they will make your heart soar.
If you go...
Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 239-348-9151, www.corkscrew.audubon.org
Caloosahatchee Regional Park, 239-338-3146, www.leeparks.org
Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium, 239-275-3435, www.calusanature.com
CREW Land and Water Trust, 239-657-2253, www.crewtrust.org
Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve, 239-574-0798, www.capecoral.net
Lakes Regional Park, 239-432-2006, www.leeparks.org
Lovers Key State Park, 239-463-4588, floridastateparks.org/loverskey/default.cfm
J.N. “Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, 239-472-2329, www.fws.gov/dingdarling
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, 239-472-2329, www.sccf.org
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, 239-432-2004, www.leeparks.org/sixmile
 | My suitcase contains 0 items |
