2025

FLORIDA BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY CALENDAR

Many parks in Florida sustained significant damage during the hurricane season of 2024. Most parks have reopened, but some still have off-limit areas where cleanup and rebuilding efforts are ongoing. Before visiting a park for the first time, be sure to check the park’s website or give them a call to make sure they are open.

To be a successful bird photographer, it is important to be at the right place at the right time. The purpose of this calendar is to help make that possible by providing you with locations and the species to photograph. Please note that this calendar is not an all-inclusive list of places to photograph birds in Florida - that would be a daunting task. Rather, this calendar is where I know through personal experience the places to go and the birds you’ll see throughout the year.

In addition to this list, I recommend you visit the website for the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. This is a wonderful resource that describes many of the best birding spots in Florida. Social media is also a great resource. On Facebook, there are several “birding in Florida” type groups where folks regularly post photos of birds. Following these groups can both confirm recent sightings and also give you ideas for other locations. eBird and birdinghotspots.org are also excellent tools.

Year-round Hotspots

These hotspots are good for bird photography any time of the year.

  • Fort De Soto Park (3500 Pinellas Bayway South, Tierra Verde, FL)

    • Birds of interest include Roseate Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets that feed on the flats. Osprey, Brown Pelican, Marbled Godwits, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Dunlin, Sanderlings, plovers and many other shorebirds are common. 20+ species of shorebird have been recorded and there are always lots of gulls and terns to enjoy.

  • Merritt Island NWR (Blackpoint Wildlife Dr, Titusville, FL)

    • There are breeding populations of Bald Eagles, Brown Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Reddish Egrets and Mottled Ducks. Spectacular migrations of passerine birds, especially warblers, occur during the spring and fall. Winter peak concentrations of waterfowl often exceed 100,000. Eight species of herons and egrets are commonly observed year-round. 

  • Circle B Bar Reserve (4399 Winter Lake Rd, Lakeland, FL)

    • Circle B Bar Reserve, on the northwest shore of Lake Hancock, is a former cattle ranch that today boasts a wide variety of plants and animals. You can see several distinct ecosystems in this reserve of 1,267 acres. You’re guaranteed to see alligators. Commonly seen birds include Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Purple Gallinule, Common Gallinule, Sandhill Crane, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Painted Bunting, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Roseate Spoonbill.

  • Wakodahatchee Wetlands (13026 Jog Rd, Delray Beach, FL)

    • This site is one of the best in all of Florida for bird photographers. These constructed wetlands were designed to recycle highly-treated wastewater from the county’s Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility. In addition, they provide approximately 50 acres of freshwater marsh habitat for wetland bird species. An elevated boardwalk offers unbelievable views of Purple Gallinule, Sora, Least Bittern, Limpkin, Black-bellied Whistling-ducks and more. Eye-candy birding at its best! Thanks to an abundance of Pond Apple trees, this location has become a Wood Stork nesting spot February through April.

  • Orlando Wetlands (25155 Wheeler Rd, Christmas, FL)

    • With more than 220 bird species the Orlando Wetlands is a “must visit” for birders and wildlife viewers. Birds of interest include Least and American Bittern (winter), Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbill, and Osprey. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Crested Caracara, Snail Kite and Short-tailed Hawk are possible. Watch for Purple Martin nesting in trees each spring. A hammock trail that begins at the parking lot and winds east around Lake Searcy and north through a hammock can be good for migratory songbirds.

January

February

  • Painted Buntings as described in January.

  • White Pelicans in small & mid-sized lakes throughout Florida, as described in January.

  • All rookery locations where Great Egrets and Wood Storks are the first to begin the nesting season. Well-known sites include St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Gatorland in Orlando, Venice Audubon Rookery Park, and Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Before photographing nesting birds, please read this article from Audubon on the “Do’s and Don’ts of Nest Photography.” The rookery at St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a particularly well-known spot to photograph Roseate Spoonbills. As a result, it can get fairly crowded with photographers and other tourists (who are primarily there for the alligators). Be sure to purchase the Photo Pass to gain early entry. Orlando Wetlands is also a great place to find Roseate Spoonbills.

  • Reddish Egret at Fort De Soto Park. The Reddish is coming into breeding plumage, which is the perfect time to photograph its two-tone beak and bluish legs.

  • Late February, Barred Owls along the boardwalk at John Chesnut Sr. Park.

 

March

  • Painted Buntings as described in January. They’ll be leaving Florida by the end of the month.

  • White Pelicans in early to mid-March. They will be leaving Florida by the end of the month.

  • All rookery locations. Great Egret and Wood Stork chicks begin hatching mid-month.

  • Reddish Egret and Red Knots at Fort De Soto Park. The Reddish is in breeding plumage, which is the perfect time to photograph its two-tone beak and bluish legs.

  • Be on the lookout for Sandhill Crane colts. Orlando Wetlands and Myakka River State Parkare great places to look for Sandies, Spoonies, and other birds.

  • Barred Owls along the boardwalk at John Chesnut Sr. Park.

  • Florida Burrowing Owls at the Pelican Baseball Complex in Cape Coral, and in the Fort Lauderdale area Vista View Park and Brian Piccolo Park. Owlets start exploring the outside of the burrow mid-March and all of April.

April

  • Spring migration starts this month! About mid-month, warblers, grosbeaks, buntings, orioles, and other songbirds begin arriving at botanical gardens, parks, and backyards everywhere. Fort De Soto Park is a noteworthy hot spot.

  • All rookery locations. Wood Stork and Great Egret chicks are small and cute. Roseate Spoonbill chicks start hatching mid-month at St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Snowy Egret chicks start hatching end of the month.

  • Reddish Egret and Red Knots at Fort De Soto Park. The Reddish is in breeding plumage, which is the perfect time to photograph its two-tone beak and bluish legs.

  • Florida Scrub-Jay at the Helen and Allan Cruikshank Sanctuary. You don’t even have to look for the birds here because the birds will fly directly to you and probably land on your head! Bring a short lens. Also, most of the scrub-jay’s are banded for conservation studies.

  • Florida Burrowing Owls at the Pelican Baseball Complex in Cape Coral, and in the Fort Lauderdale area Vista View Park and Brian Piccolo Park. Owlets exploring the burrow area all month.

May

  • Spring migration peaking late April/early May, and is essentially over by the third week of the month. Last chance to see the warblers, orioles, buntings, and grosbeaks!

  • All rookery locations. Early to mid-month you can find chicks of all sizes. Great Egret and Wood Stork chicks are pretty big by now and starting to leave the nests.

  • Reddish Egret and Red Knots at Fort De Soto Park. The Red Knots will be gone by the end of the month.

  • Florida Scrub-Jays, as in April.

  • Least Terns and Wilson’s Plover at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. Nesting starts second/third week of May.

  • Black Skimmers at St. Pete Beach and Lido Key in Sarasota in late May through all of June. Skimmers start nesting mid-May, with chicks appearing in last week of May to the first two weeks of June.

June

  • All rookery locations. Displaying is over and chicks are preparing to fledge.

  • Royal Tern and Laughing Gull colony at Huguenot Memorial Park near Jacksonville. A great place to get birds-in-flight photos. Royal Tern chicks will be hatching around 20 June.

  • Least Terns and Wilson’s Plover at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. Chicks in early June.

  • Black Skimmers at St. Pete Beach and Lido Key in Sarasota. Chicks hatch early to mid-June.

July

  • All rookery locations, although it’s getting late in the season. July is usually the last month to get good photos at these sites. Nesting season complete by the end of the month. Only a few stragglers remain.

  • Royal Tern and Laughing Gull colony at Huguenot Memorial Park near Jacksonville. A great place to get birds-in-flight photos. Early to mid-July.

  • Black Skimmers at St. Pete Beach and Lido Key in early to mid-July. The chicks are rather big and beginning to fledge. Some will be practicing their skimming skills at the shoreline.

  • Reddish Egret at Fort De Soto Park. The Reddish will be phasing out of breeding colors. Roseate Spoonbills may also be present. You can expect to find wading birds such as the Reddish, spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and Little Blue Herons at high tide. At low tide your best bet is plovers and Yellowlegs on the mudflats. Don’t go July 4th - it’s a zoo.

August to October

  • August to October are the hottest and slowest months of the year. Fort De Soto Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, and other beach locations are a good bet for all the typical resident shore birds.

  • Warblers are starting to return in late August/early September, setting off the Fall migration. Local and county parks are good places to explore if you can stand the heat & humidity.

November

  • Time to look for ducks! Hooded Merganser, Northern Shoveler, Blue Wing Teal, and others may be seen in small ponds throughout Florida starting the week before Thanksgiving.

  • Chuck-will’s-widow may be at Green Cay Nature Preserve.

December