Beaches and birds: they're a natural pairing. I’m also fond of tall treetops! If you put out suet, I might visit your bird feeder, too! I migrate through Florida each spring and fall. Litter can be deadly to birds and other wildlife. A few places that are especially good for Florida beach birding: You might also like to try the Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail, a 2,000-mile driving tour connecting 492 great birding hot spots. “Drink Your Tea!” That’s what my call sounds like. If you’re lucky, I will visit your backyard in the wintertime, when I migrate to Florida. I’m a rare visitor to Florida in the wintertime. Wings are dark with bold white stripes visible in flight. Find me in Florida only during the spring and fall migration. In my breeding plumage I have a pretty line across my beak. Females will implant their eggs in the nests of other bird species, and most of the birds are silly enough to raise our babies as their own, leaving us to keep pigging out at your feeders! Please check out my Youtube Channel for my BIRDING VIDEOS. Like other flycatchers, I like to perch high on a treetop or powerline to look for insects. It also occurs throughout the Caribbean, on both coasts of Mexico (from Baja California southwards) and Central America, and as far south as Colombia and Venezuela. I like to spend time by myself in the tops of trees. 3. My favorite food is apple snails, and you will often see me eating them. I’m one of the first migrant ducks to arrive, usually in early September. I’m bigger than my cousins the Snowy and Cattle Egrets. Other plastic items with holes can also become traps, so please dispose of all trash properly and help keep our birds healthy. I’m not the most elegant flier, but I’m fun to watch when I go fishing. I’m a year-round Florida resident, although you might notice me more in the wintertime, when my northern friends are visiting the Sunshine State. My face is featherless so that bacteria doesn’t build up on me. Another Dove. I come to roost in Florida’s marshy areas in the wintertime. I’m a very friendly little bird. I get a green mandible and fluffy tail feathers. I fly really fast, and I like to dive and swoop around you. If I come out of the water for you, you’ll see that my feet are as bright as my beak! I have a striking orange beak and black top to my head. I’m one of the easier-to-find warblers that migrates through Florida in the spring and fall. Just call us Little Brown Jobs because we’re easily confused with other brown sparrows. 2. Don’t mistake me for a Bald Eagle. Their bills are narrow but strongly hooked. Please contact us to send a comment or to report a problem. The Snowy Egret is white with black legs and bright yellow feet. If you’re lucky, you might find me mixed in with a flock of Hooded Mergansers. My wings beat about 100 times a second, and I really do sound like I’m humming as I zip around your yard. You can find America’s symbol of freedom throughout Florida, especially in the wintertime. All rights reserved. Find me in Florida during a few fleeting months in spring and fall during migration. I was introduced in New York in the early 1850s, and I quickly spread across the continent. I’m the white-colored morph of my cousin the Reddish Egret. I have a distinctive orange beak. My cheeks don’t have the rosy hues of my cousin the Swainson’s Thrush, so they call me Gray-cheeked. I’m not as common in Central Florida as other ducks. I’m one of the first migrant ducks to arrive, usually in early September. Don’t be surprised if I’m the first bird to check out your new feeders. Enjoy me while you can because I don’t stay in the state for long! I clean up by eating dead animals and carrion, thereby preventing the spread of bacteria. Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. Look for me in retention ponds, where I dive for my food. The content for this web site has been provided both by professional travel writers and by individual consumers. I’m a small gray bird that hangs out in the treetops. I pass through the Sunshine State as I move from my wintering grounds in Central America to my breeding grounds in the northern US and Canada. They all tend to intermingle. Find me along the beaches. Electrical or telephone poles Tur… I’m a common tern of Florida’s beaches. I sometimes squawk as I take flight. Black vultures have bare heads with gray-black skin. I arrive in late April to breed on the beach. The smallest tern is named, appropriately, the Least tern. I’m a wintertime visitor with a happy ‘chip’ call note (you might confuse my call with a cardinal’s). They have a lighter, more buoyant flight with sleeker, narrower bodies and wings, forked tails and very sharp beaks. Bald Cypress 7. I’m a secretive bird of salt water marshes. Others think my flying chatter sounds like ‘Look out below! You’ll see willets in small flocks, alone or in pairs. Look for my bright yellow colors in the treetops. I like to sit at the top of a tree and sing my heart out. I’m similar in size to an American Kestrel. Our females have dark heads and a distinct white stripe. I like to flit around nectaring from your flowers, then I go sit in trees to rest. My call sounds like a groan. I’m a very rare migrant in Florida. I’m a backyard bully. Usually I end up eating the seed that the other birds spill. In good light my head appears to have a dark green patch. We typically migrate along the major flyways, and we sometimes stray to Florida. Our males have distinctive brown heads, gray backs, black tummies, and a red eye. Young Eastern Towhees (left) can be real foolers to identify, but since their parents are usually nearby, they help solve the ID mystery. I’m probably the most common hawk in Central Florida. I hide in the vegetation by the edge of ponds. Our female hummingbirds don’t have the flashy red throats of the males, but we’re still really pretty! I’m a year-round resident in Florida. Yep, I’m yet another duck that visits Florida in the wintertime! A ll bird sounds on this page are taken from the audio cassette tape “Sounds of Florida’s Birds,” copyright 1998, by J. W. Hardy, curator emeritus in ornithology and bioacoustics at the Florida Museum of Natural History. We’re cousins of the Red-Winged Blackbirds. If you let me, I will take over all your feeders and nest boxes. Note how mine is long and straight – that’s one of the ways you can distinguish me from a Long-Billed Curlew. Put out a nest box for me, give me some dead trees and suet, and I’ll happily spend all year in your yard. Our female birds don’t have red wings! Look for me during the winter months. Your presence may prevent the parent birds from returning with food. More, please!! Like most warblers, you’ll only find me in Florida during spring and fall migration. My favorite food is niger seed, although I’m also a big fan of black oil sunflower seeds. Our males have bright green feathers, and our females are brown. Images and content © 2002-2020, Jessica D. Yarnell. My everyday feathers are white and boring, but in my breeding plumage, I’m much fancier. Cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Don’t be offended if I never come out! I’m endangered and I love horseshoe crabs. I’m another one of the birds that visits Florida during the winter. A really good place to go to find me is Viera Wetlands. They're about 46-56 cm tall and their wingspan is about 88-96 cm. Look for me in the springtime, when I’m quite vocal as I mate. Sycamores 2. In the springtime, my face is accented with bright pink and purple to help me attract a mate. I’m one of the more animated birds along Florida’s coasts. I’m a cousin of the common White Ibis, but my feathers are dark and glossy. Listen to our wings beat as we fly overhead – the noise is pretty impressive. I’m a bird of the wetlands, and a cousin of the Red-Winged Blackbirds. Yes, it's fun, but it makes them aggressive and dependent on humans for food. Learn to discern your terns from your gulls with this helpful beach bird guide: You're sure to see an abundance of gulls on Florida's beaches. We use cookies on our website to enhance your experience. You’ll only find me in the winter in Florida. Look for me along the beach. I’m easy to identify by my long beak. I’m a small brown falcon that you might find in Florida during the winter. I’m a small dove, skittish and quiet. I pass through Florida during spring and fall migration. Often you’ll find us butt-up as we dabble for fish! We love to eat apple snails. We feed on millet seed and appreciate extra bushes to hide in, please! Don’t confuse with with my cousin the Black-and-white Warbler. I fly to Florida in the spring, raise my young, then return to South America for the winter. Tempt me to your yard by offering mealworms and a nesting box. A gull, or rather, a … I’m a year-round bird in Florida, but you might not notice me much except in spring. Like many shorebirds, I come to Florida in the wintertime. I’m named for the green on my wings, but I’m most easily distinguished by my brown head with green stripe. This variety is rarely seen anywhere but the southwest coast of Florida, from the Florida Keys and Florida … My black face and gray back make me pretty easy to distinguish as I flit among the treetops. You might see huge flocks of us. If you put out a bluebird house, I might choose to nest in it. J.N. This is not a comprehensive list, but hopefully it will help you identify the visitors to your yard and the “customers” at your feeders. I hang out on Florida’s beaches during the winter, when my feathers are drab and brown-spotted. My bright red spot is hard to mistake, even when I stay high in the trees. I’m one of the more common white birds that you’ll see in Florida’s marshes. Find me during the wintertime as I scurry along the waves. Our call is a sharp “bark.”  We are unusual birds because our lower beak mandible is longer than the top mandible. With a relatively long bill, long legs and gray body, a willet is fairly easy to pick out, especially when mingling with sanderlings and dowitchers. Do not just cut the line. I’m a brown duck that winters in Florida. Blue bill with black tip. I’m a common bird of Florida’s coasts. You might mistake me for a Great Egret, unless you see my pinkish bill or my “drunken sailor” fishing technique. I’m a flycatcher, so look for me at the tops of trees where I watch for insects. I hang around ponds and lakes. You might find me flying with my friends in a large flock, also known as a kettle. Sometimes you’ll hear me fly overhead, but I don’t always land to say hello. I’m a little guy who you might find flitting in the trees during the spring and fall migrations. I’m very similar to my cousin the Greater Scaup, who prefers the ocean water and lacks the small bump on the back of my head. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You may not see me much if you live in a neighborhood without mature trees. Our juveniles lack the orange beak. It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. Look for my bright black cap and stripe by my eye. I nest in Florida and you may see several broods of little cardinals each year. I’m not a big fan of feeders, thanks – I prefer my insects. I’m one of the many ducks that visit Florida in the wintertime. A black bill, jet black eyes and speedy black legs give them away. Find them on the beach near the water's edge, looking for food by probing the wet sand with their bills. Sparrow sized, slate gray plumage with white outer tail feathers. The Common Tern is the most widespread tern in North America, spending its winters as far south as Argentina and Chile. Our males have bright blue bills and black-and-white heads that make us easy to distinguish from other ducks. I’ll swoop down from the sky to grab my prey. I don’t stick around long! I’m supposed to symbolize springtime, but I’m only in Florida during the winters. I’m a rare bird in Florida. I’m a very common bird of marshes and swamps. Look for my rusty red head and tummy patches. American Crows have the characteristic caw-caw-caw. Look for me at the edge of reeds. I’m a year round bird in Florida. I hang out mostly in pine trees. I’m a little like a Palm Warbler with a streaked tummy. The female (above) is brown where the male is black but also wears the rufous. I frequent marshes, and sometimes golf courses. You might be surprised to find me more on the ground than in a tree. Some people have the mistaken impression that there are no hummingbirds in Florida, just because we’re not very easy to find. Our females have blackish caps and yellow tummies. If you’re wondering, my name means ‘Tufted Little Bird.’ I’m a big fan of huge oak trees. I’m not overly common in Central Florida, but if you have pine trees in your area, look for me. My spotted stomach is an easy way to identify me in the spring. Look for me year-round in Florida. They can contact local bird rescue volunteers, who are trained to capture and transport injured or sick seabirds. Look for me dodging in and out of trees and shrubs. We use our beak to “skim” over the water and catch fish. I come to Florida during the wintertime. One of the larger Florida shorebirds is the willet. Don’t confuse me with my brother, the Black Vulture, who lacks my red face. Their color is mostly white. Our males are bright red, and our females bright yellow. My call is very shrill and unmistakable. Normally I hang out in places like Maine and Alaska, but you may be surprised to find me off the beach of Florida too. I have a distinctive strike across my beak, but my name comes from the ring on my neck. Look for my dark head and red eye to distinguish me from other herons. My calls are interspersed with little ‘mieu’ sounds. Tricolored heron – Blue-gray heron with white underparts and light-colored throat. You’ll find me in year-round marshy areas. Find me year-round. Listen to Dr. Hardy’s introduction. For a complete listing of Florida's imperiled birds, visit MyFWC.com. Birds can get their feet tangled in a piece of monofilament line. Look for my red eyes high in the treetops! I’m one of the most common birds in North America. I look a lot like a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and I’m smaller than the more common Red-shouldered Hawk. You guessed it, they named us for our yellow legs! Find me in the wetlands and along the coast of Florida. 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