Florida Plan

Florida and warm weather have been calling my name for a couple of months and tomorrow I will answer that call. I will be heading down to the Fort Myers area to spend some time with my parents and for the first time to spend a substantial amount of time bird watching. Over the past 8 years I usually make a pilgrimmage south for a few days to enjoy the sunshine. Mostly, I spend a couple of days at nature preserves but often with no other plan than to be outside.

This trip will be a different endevour for me. Not only will I have my binoculars in hand the entire time, but I will spend many days with no other objective than to search out those birds that have made Florida their home, especially for the winter months. With the promise of Indigo Buntings at the feeder in the front yard and Wood Storks feeding along the side of the road, I have high hopes of coming home with a full list of birds, hopefully with a few lifers.

My goal is to record the events and sightings from this trip here, so that others can share in my experiences. Also, I hope this will help others who are travelling or planning a birding trip to the Fort Myers area by describing some the best places to spend their time.

If anyone is interested in the resources I've been using for planning here is a brief list: experience (I've already spent time at some of the more well known nature areas), newspapers- there is a regular section in the local paper that lists nature hotspots and usually includes maps, I've had my parents cut out interesting sections and paste them into a notebook, Petersons south east guide lists areas of interest, and finally the Caloosa Bird Club also has a list of hotspots available here: http://www.caloosabirdclub.org/HotSpots.html

Wish me luck. Now I need to go pack!