Key West is home to many rare species, and is important as a pit-stop for many migratory birds. Here's a few birds to look for, as well as five birdwatching hot spots.
When John James Audubon visited the Florida Keys in the early 1800s, he was amazed by the abundance and diversity of bird life. Development and human encroachment have taken a toll on the avian population, but hundreds of songbirds, waterbirds, shorebirds, and raptors still pass through Key West every year.
Many birders in Key West are looking to check these rare birds off their list:
- Antillean Nighthawk: Often heard rather than seen, this nightjar comes out at dusk and is distinguishable from the Common Nighthawk only through its song. The Antillean is a resident of the West Indies and nests in South Florida during summer. The salt ponds surrounding the Key West airport are a good place to spot them.
- Great White Heron or Wurdemann’s Heron: This bird is actually the white morph of the Great Blue Heron, but was formerly considered a separate species. This white version is found only in the Caribbean and is frequently seen in Key West. A more rare dark-bodied heron with a white head and neck, dubbed a Wurdemann’s Heron, can be spotted in Key West as well.
- Least Tern: The smallest tern in North America is in residence from March through September. These lovely little seabirds used to nest on local beaches, but won't anymore because of human activity. Now, they roost in noisy colonies on top of the Federal Building, La Brisa Condominiums, the Professional Plaza, and other flat-topped buildings in town. They are difficult to miss, flying back and forth in noisy throngs from the rooftops to the ocean to fish for their babies.
- Mangrove Cuckoo: These elusive birds hide in the mangroves of the lower Keys and the West Indies year-round. As habitat is destroyed in Key West, these cuckoos are spotted less and less.
- Roseate Tern: The roseate tern is a Threatened species that winters along the coast of eastern Brazil, but frequently nests in the Florida Keys on rooftops or on beaches in the Dry Tortugas.
- White Crowned Pigeon: This shy but beautiful Columbidae occurs in Southern Florida at the northern limit of its range and throughout the West Indies. It is listed as a Threatened species.
Top 5 Birdwatching Spots in Key West
- Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park (1801 White St.): This designated wildlife refuge features plants native to Keys’ soil. The freshwater pond comes courtesy of the Audubon society, who hosts monthly birding walks in the park. Commonly seen are red-shouldered hawks, American kestrels, anhingas, white crowned pigeons, purple gallinules, scarlet tanagers, and belted kingfishers. The Key West Wildlife Center is on site to rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured local wildlife.
- Fort Zachary Taylor (Southard St. / Truman Annex): From magnificent frigates, black skimmers, and brown pelicans off the beach to red-bellied woodpeckers and broad-winged hawks on the nature trails, “Fort Zack” is a birder’s paradise. In March of 2007, the Loggerhead Kingbird, never before spotted in North America, showed up in the canopy.
- Little Hamaca Park (end of Government Rd.): This 10-acre park boasts a mangrove swamp, a salt marsh, a buttonwood wetland and a hardwood hammock, ending at a canal. Within these various ecosystems, you may spot anything from nesting peregrine falcons to flocks of white-crowned pigeons.
- Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens (5210 College Rd, Stock Island): This 7.5 acre park is home to many threatened and endangered species of plants. The garden has two freshwater ponds, and is currently building a gigantic fresh-water pond that will be visible from the sky, attracting birds as they pass through for migration.
- Dry Tortugas National Park (70 miles west of Key West): No serious birder should visit Key West without taking the ferry to the Dry Tortugas for a day. Out here are nesting sites for pelagic birds like the northern gannet, magnificent frigatebird, brown booby, black noddy, and sooty tern just to name a few.
The copyright of the article Birdwatching in Key West in Bird Watching is owned by Sarah Goodwin-Nguyen. Permission to republish Birdwatching in Key West in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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