Some of My Favorite Spots to Photograph:

By Richard Jones

Photo above: Anhinga with Chicks - Venice Rookery

FLORIDA is for the Birds:

Florida abounds with places to photograph birds.  Below I am revealing some of my favorite Florida locations for bird photography.  You may have more that you have discovered as well.  My list is not complete. As you travel through Florida, there are thousands of marinas, bridges and fishing piers that have resident birds that are used to people and willing to pose for you.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm:

You might think that the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a strange place to go for bird photography, but actually it is one of our favorite hotspots.  There is a symbiotic relationship between alligators and wading birds.  Certainly nesting above a body of water teeming with these reptiles carries a certain amount of risk.  Occasionally a baby bird falls from the nest or an adult gets too close to the water and becomes a dinner to the alligators.  But for the most part, the birds get the better deal.  The greatest danger to the rookery is from predatory animals such as raccoons that like to raid the nests and eat the eggs or chicks. With the alligators on patrol below the rookery, the predators can?t safely reach the rookery.

There was once a great rookery in Greynolds Park which is in north Miami.  This site was noted for scarlet ibis (introduced) and many other species. Unfortunately there was a golf course next to it. Golfers didn?t appreciate the alligators that sometimes came onto the golf course.  Eventually they persuaded the park board to remove the alligators.  The result is that predators destroyed the eggs and nests of the nesting birds.  Today the rookery is gone, because there are no alligators. 

At the St. Augustine alligator farm you will find all of the living species of crocodilians including some rare white alligators. For the bird photographer, this place is magical. The management has built a boardwalk through the mangroves. From late winter into July, you can find a succession of species nesting along the boardwalk. Among the birds that can be seen are virtually every species of Florida?s herons, Spoonbills, and Woodstorks.

The Alligator Farm is a tourist attraction and as such you will have to pay a fee to access the rookery.  However the Farm sells annual memberships for a very modest fee. For a little extra fee you can also get into the rookery about an hour early before the crowds, but frankly you won?t really need to get in early. The birds are flying in and out of the rookery from dawn to dusk supplying food for their young. Armed with an annual membership, you can make several trips during the nesting season and photograph different varieties on each visit.

Unlike many of the rookeries, you actually are walking through this one.  That means that super telephotos are not necessary to make great bird photographs. However, we still recommend bringing your 500 and 600mm lenses but you will be making great photos with 200 to 400mm lenses as well.  Not only will your 200mm prime or 80-200mm zoom lens give you the opportunity to great flight shots as the Woodstorks and Egrets fly into their nests, you may find the need to use a macro lens.  In 2006, I used a 200mm micro Nikkor and an SB 29-S ring light to photograph baby Tricolored herons in a nest that literal touched the boardwalk railing.

 Other photo opportunities abound in the St. Augustine area, including a lighthouse, old Spanish Fort, and living history museums.

 Venice Rookery:

The Venice Rookery is fairly well known and gets a lot of bird photographers. The rookery is a tiny island in the middle of a small lake.  It is reached by driving west on Jacaranda Boulevard from I-75. After a few miles of driving, you will come to US 41.  There is a Wal-mart on the southwest corner of this intersection. At this point turn right and immediately take the next drive on the left. This runs along side a sheriff?s office substation. Drive back about a city block and you will come to the rookery. 

This rookery will have a succession of species nesting from January to early summer.  It is an excellent location for Great Blue Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets and Anhingas. A number of alligators patrol the water beneath the rookery thus discouraging predators from swimming out to the rookery. 

To get spectacular frame filling photographs here, you will need super telephotos.  A 600mm is much better than even a 500mm here.  Even with the 600 you will find yourself using teleconverters. Morning light is better here for photography than is late afternoon.  If you don?t have the big glass, it is possible to get flight shots with smaller lenses. 

This is a popular spot and it is common to see 20 or more photographers with literally several hundred thousand of dollars of big glass. There is a picnic shelter where you can set up your equipment, eat lunch or weather a short rain.

 Sanibel Island: 

Sanibel Island is the home of the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is a great place to observe birds or even a rare American Crocodile, but it offers somewhat limited bird photography opportunities. The refuge is closed to visitors Fridays and opens a little late for the best light in the morning.  It is best to have your equipment ready to go and have your car in line when the gate opens. Unfortunately it doesn?t always open on time either.  You must pay a fee to enter but you can get free admission using a Golden Eagle Pass, Golden Age or a National Park Pass with the optional hologram attached.  The Park Pass alone will not be honored. It must have the optional hologram ($15).  

Once past the toll booth keep moving until you come to one of the ponds that has a large quantity of wading birds feeding. Set up your tripod and start making your photographs.  The feeding frenzy may be as short as 15 minutes or sometimes as much as an hour, before the birds move too far away for good photographs. During this frenzy, the birds may be right next to the wildlife drive. While a 500 or 600mm lens is suggested, you may get some good photographs of the larger birds with a 300 or 400mm lens.

Early morning is the best time for photography because nearly all of the action is on the left side of the drive.  Afternoon yields strongly backlit birds on the left side of the drive.   

The right side of the drive is predominately brush with water views in only a few spots.  If you are in the refuge in the afternoon you will find a few birds sitting in the mangroves on the right side of the road where there is a "window" in the brush.  Also watch for Ospreys and Red Shouldered Hawks, which seem more tame here than anywhere else and often are perched on the right side of the drive in the afternoon. Osprey nests are seen all over Sanibel Island. While in the refuge keep a lookout for Pileated Woodpeckers (often rather tame around the visitor center), the American Alligator, rarely the American Crocodile, several species of snakes (some venomous) and otters. 

We start early to get the morning feeding frenzy and then concentrate more on individual birds along the right side of the drive, leaving only for lunch. We will then return later in the day. The wildlife drive closes at sunset. 

Other opportunities for bird photography outside the refuge include a small pond behind the picnic area on the main road that sometimes has Spoonbills, and around the bridge between Sanibel and Captiva islands.  You may also find good bird photography along the bridge and causeway to the island.  Near the beginning of the toll bridge you may find a lot of birds, especially in the winter months. There is also a lighthouse on the southern tip of the island. 

In general, Sanibel is not a friendly island for tourists.  Parking permits are required virtually everywhere, are expensive, and enforced.  Permits are purchased by the hour at ticket machines and must be placed on the dashboard of your vehicle. 

Everglades National Park: 

No bird photography trip to Florida would be complete without a trip to Everglades National Park.  There are several areas that are of interest to photographers. The best place to start is at the main entrance near Florida City. 

If you have only a short amount of time, you should visit the Anhinga Trail in the Royal Palm Hammock area that is just a few miles from the tollbooth. If you arrive early in the morning, your photography can begin in the parking lot. There are several dead trees in the parking lot that serve as roosts for both Turkey Vultures and in winter Black Vultures. The vultures are waiting for the thermals to start so they can soar above the Everglades. 

We suggest that you take a full complement of lenses with you on the trail as there are a multitude of things to photograph.  Part of the trail is asphalt and part is boardwalk.  It is a good idea to bring a cart to haul your equipment, since it can be a good trip back to the parking lot from the farthest parts of the boardwalk. The Tri-cart 700 is an excellent choice. 

Most birds along the trail are very tame. Anhingas for which the trail is named are abundant along with their cousin the Double Crested Cormorant. Many are so tame that you can do head shots with a 50mm lens. Anhingas nest in the small trees and mangroves along the trail during the spring. Be sure to get some images with them in their breeding plumage. Both species also nest in the mangroves opposite the visitor and at the farthest point of the boardwalk, but at these locations a 600 mm lens and a 1.4x ?2.0x teleconverters are essential.   

Just a short way down the trail there is a little bridge where many species of herons and egrets abound.  They are so tame short telephotos work well.  Super telephotos will capture head shots. To the left side of the trail at this point is often a good area for close ups of woodstorks and an occasional rosette spoonbill.  Check the dead tree on the right as there are often ospreys and/or vultures roosting on it. 

Along the entire trail it is common to see the American Bittern, but we have found the best area to be immediately around the area where the first entrance to the boardwalk loop leaves the paved trail. 200 to 300 mm lenses are adequate. 

The best area for the Purple Gallinule is between the spots where the boardwalk loop leaves and rejoins the asphalt trail.  

You should have good photo opportunities for Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Green Herons, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets. With a little patience you should be able to photograph the Purple Gallinule using a 300 mm or larger lens. Keep your eyes out for the Great White Heron (white color morph of the Great Blue). We usually see it in this part of the park. 

You may also see Yellow Crowned Night Herons, the Limpkin, otters and alien animals such as pythons. Sadly most of the fish in this area are not native. 

You can?t miss the alligators and turtles,which are abundant along the trail.  

Other photo opportunities are the smaller birds such as Catbirds, Mockingbirds, and Palm Warblers.  Look for dragonflies. If you spook them they will usually return to the same perch in a very short time. 

At the end of the road is the service area of Flamingo.  This area was heavily damaged by hurricane Wilma late in 2005.  Virtually all vegetation was killed by saltwater intrusion.  The boardwalk around Eco Pond was a great place for nearly every type of wading bird including Glossy Ibis and Roseate Spoonbills.  Unfortunately the pond was filled with saltwater and the boardwalk was destroyed.  The marina here was also the best place along the road to see the American crocodile.  Hopefully in the next few years this area will restore itself as the rains cleanse the land and pond of the saltwater. You may wish to check out Florida Bay while at Flamingo. It is one of the better places to see Flamingos, but probably the best place to see them is to hike the Snakebite Trail that starts a couple of miles from Flamingo. Bite is a term that means a small inlet, so don?t think it refers to the bite of one of Florida?s many snakes. 

There are numerous lakes along the road between the Anhinga Trail and Flamingo.  You may wish to stop and check them out. At times you may find Spoonbills on them and Sandhill Cranes in the hammocks that surround the lakes. 

You may also access the park from US 41 at the Shark River Valley visitor area.  Here there is a road that leads to an observation tower. While you can?t drive the road, there is a tram, or you can bicycle or walk.  You will find a lot of wading birds near the trails beginning. The bird life is similar to that found at the Anhinga Trail. 

If you drive theTamiami Trail (US 41) between the Miami Metro area and Naples late in the day you may find roosting sites for Woodstorks and Roseate Spoonbills (mostly north of the road). If you are lucky there may be a pull off on the south side where you can stop and make photographs.  Be careful pulling off and back on US 41 as the traffic is extremely fast and nasty accidents are too common.  

Also along US 41 is the great Cypress Swamp National Preserve.  While there are not many areas for bird photography there are some spots you might like to visit. The visitor center offers restrooms, a small information center, bookstore and orientation film.  Outside the visitor is a catwalk where you can look at wild alligators.  There are some really large ones here. But all along US 41 you will see alligators if you keep your eyes open.  

At the visitor center Ospreys are commonly seen and can be photographed. A 400 mm lens or longer would be preferred. 

A few miles west of the visitor center is the remains of Monroe Station.  Here there is a loop road that takes you through the Cypress Swamp.  Shortly you will see a parking lot with picnic tables and restrooms.  A few miles down the road the swamp opens up and the road crosses a bridge.  The swamp is more open here and you will find wading birds, semi-tame songbirds, alligators and deer. This is worth a stop for some bird photography or some landscapes or perhaps "swampscapes". 

Barred Owls are common along this road and you may see them hunting during the day. At a number of places along the road there are some small open water areas that offer some bird photo opportunities, but the other areas we have described above are better choices.  Near the eastern end of the loop road there is a children?s educational center (not open to the general public). Directly across from the center is a short trail that takes you through a hammock (a slightly higher piece of ground covered by trees).  Here you will see the endangered Tree Snails. The first one is the hardest to find. 

After joining back up to US 41 you can return to the Miami area by turning right or you can go back to the Great Cypress Preserve.  After passing the visitor center and Monroe station you will find a large picnic area with restrooms on the north side of the road. The gravel road is the beginning of a motor wildlife trail that will loop around back to US 41 farther west.  There are birds and alligators all along this road. Unfortunately the birds are very skittish, so you will have to make any bird photographs from your car. Keep your eyes open for the rare Snail Kite.  We saw one in the spring of 2006 along this road. 

Other areas of interest:

 Here are some other areas that may offer good bird photography during the right seasons.

One possibility is the Audubon Society?s Corkscrew Swamp where you may photograph Pileated Woodpeckers and Woodstorks during the nesting season.   There is a long boardwalk through the swamp, so you may want to use a cart to haul your equipment. The woodpeckers will probably require a 600mm lens. 

Another is Fort Desoto Park in Tampa Bay where you can get some great shots of shorebirds. Be prepared to get muddy. Super telephoto lenses are suggested. 

In the Gainesville area, thousands of Sandhill Cranes over winter. You will have to drive around the area to see where they are feeding and roosting at the time of your visit.