When finished, the trail will have numerous sites in all sections of the Sunshine State. The sites will be noted on a birding guide map and marked by highway signs. The signs will begin going up this winter, but it will take until 2005 until the entire network is marked.
The first part of the state to be organized is in northeast Florida, from Jacksonville south to Fort Pierce. There are 136 birding sites in this region in 23 related groups for circle driving tours.
Some of the rare and unusual birds that can be spotted in this region are:
-- The Painted Bunting around St. Augustine.
-- The Swallow-tailed Kite near the Ocala National Forest north of Orlando.
-- Whooping cranes in rural areas near Kissimmee.
Other species include sand hill crane, Florida scrub jay, kestrel, wild turkey, roseate spoonbill, reddish egret, crested caracara, Bachman’s sparrow and limpkin.
The wildlife commission has designated three main gateways in the northeast region – Fort Clinch State Park near Jacksonville, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Kennedy Space Center and Tenoroc Fish Management Area near Lakeland. All three facilities have visitor’s centers with trained staff members that can give information about the birding trails.
At Fort Clinch, the ruins of a Civil War-era fort are the highlight of the park but the area is populated with bird species such as royal terns, purple sandpipers and migratory warblers. Bird lists and park maps are available at the ranger station.
Merritt Island is the starting point for one of the best and most famous birdwatching destinations in the United States. Over 300 of Florida’s 470 bird species can be found in the national refuge and adjoining Canaveral National Seashore. These public lands surround the Kennedy Space Center, where manmade birds of another kind have made the region famous.
The Merritt Island refuge visitor’s center east of Titusville has bird checklists maps. Nearby is a quarter-mile boardwalk and a seven-mile driving loop where many birds can be spotted.
Tenoroc Fish Management Area enjoys one of Florida’s most significant wading bird rookeries during the spring months. In the winter, it plays host to thousands of migratory waterfowl that make their way south when the weather turns cold up north.
Other places where birding is popular in this region are at Guana River State Park between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Little Big Econ State Forest near Orlando and Sebastian Inlet State Park near Vero Beach. Southern bald eagles are a top draw at Little Big Econ State Forest.
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