Florida Birds

How many of these Florida birds do you recognize?

Florida birds have always fascinated me. Maybe it’s because they are so different from what I normally see living in Western New York. Maybe it’s because they are so much bigger than the small songbirds native to my area of the USA. I’m not really sure, but I love them just the same.

My recent trip to Daytona Beach this summer gave me the opportunity to see many of the Florida birds I love so much. Daytona Beach sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercoastal Waterway, otherwise known as the Halifax River. There are many lakes, canals and marshy areas that attract a variety of birds in Florida.

Check out some of my favorite Florida birds…

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans along the shores of Daytona Beach are often seen flying overhead in groups of 6 or more. They frequently hang around the fishing docks in Ponce Inlet eagerly waiting for the fishing boats to return. Once the boats have returned and the days catch is unloaded, the fishermen filet the fish and throw the scraps into the water for the Pelicansto eat.

Brown Pelican swimming in Ponce Inlet Florida (Photo- Backyard Birdlady/ Karen Hance)

Double-Crested Cormorant

Double-Crested Cormorants can often be seen in Daytona Beach along the roadside or on a rock sunning themselves. Many times you will see them on the roadside with their wings outstretched to dry. These Cormorants were seen in a beautiful little park called Central Park, in Ormond Beach, not to be confused with the more well-known park in New York City.

Double-Crested Cormorant (Backyard Birdlady- Karen Hance)

Snowy Egret

This beautiful Snowy Egret was seen daily down at the beach on our recent visit to Daytona Beach. He spent most of the day there just waiting to catch little fish from the ocean pools. We saw so much of him that I named him Harry. There are many different varieties of egrets and each one is uniquely different. You can find out more about their differences in an upcoming post.

Snowy Egret wading in the ocean along the beach (Photo- Backyard Birdlady/ Karen Hance)

Tricolored Heron

This spectacular Tricolored Heron was seen at the St Augustine Alligator Farm in none other than St Augustine, Florida. They have a natural bird rookery there filled with Herons of all kinds and so many more beautiful birds. The birds nest and raise their chicks there as well right alongside the alligators.

Tricolored Heron at the St Augustine Alligator Farm (Photo- Backyard Birdlady/ Karen Hance)

Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Ducks are considered nuisance ducks in Florida and considered invasive in the US. We saw these ducks in Central Park, as well as along some of the roadside retention ponds. I think that in their own way, they are uniquely pretty.

Muscovy Duck swimming in a lake in Central Park located in Daytona Beach, Florida (Photo- Backyard Birdlady- Karen Hance)

Great Egret

This Great Egret, also known as the Great White Egret is actually classified as a Heron, rather than an Egret. However, it is the largest Egret when compared with other Egrets. We saw this magnificent bird in Tampa, Florida a couple years ago. They nest in colonies in trees along the water and are commonly seen by rivers and other bodies of water.

Great Egret (Photo- Backyard Birdlady/ Karen Hance)

Roseate Spoonbill

These Roseate Spoonbills were living amongst many other birds at the St Augustine Alligator Farm. The rookery here is a great place to see these beautiful birds in their natural habitat. You’ll want to bring a decent camera as they tend to stay high up in the trees. Their spoon-shaped bill helps them to sift through the mud as they swing it from side to side while they feed in shallow waters.

Roseate Spoonbill (Photo- Backyard Birdlady/ Karen Hance)

Although these are just a few of the many birds that can be found in Florida, they are some of the most common birds that you’ll see. There are way too many birds to mention in this post, but here are some books about Florida Birds that I thought you might enjoy. All of them are available on Amazon.

Birds of Florida Field Guide by Stan Tekiela (Click on photo to purchase on Amazon)

Smithsonian Handbooks Birds of Florida by Fred J Alsop III (Click on photo to purchase from Amazon)

Second Edition Florida’s Birds, A Field Guide and Reference by David Maehr & Herbert W Kale II (Click on photo to purchase on Amazon)

I hope you found these Flordia birds as interesting as I did, and that you get a chance to see them first-hand someday. Florida has so many things to offer- beautiful weather, warm temperatures, gorgeous trees and flowers, not to mention miles of beautiful sandy beaches and waterways. The people of Florida are some of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet. There is so much more to Florida than Disney world!

Until your next Florida vacation, keep those feeders filled and tell us about the birds where you live. What birds have you seen lately? Happy Birding ~ Karen