Winter Wildlife in Florida

Posted on April 29th, 2010
Written by Larry Hennessy

Tags

American White Pelican, Anhinga, Armadillo, bird, birding, Brown Pelican, Dolphin, egret, Glossy Ibis, great blue heron, great egret, Limpkin, Loggerhead Shrike, Osprey, Red Shouldered Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, snowy egret, White Ibis, Wildlife, winter, wood stork

My family spends the winter months (January to April) in Florida to escape the cold in New Jersey. This past winter Florida had below normal temps but it was still better than the cold and snow in New Jersey. The cold Florida winter took it’s toll on the fish, there was a large fish kill and I saw thousands of dead fish floating on the Indian River Intracoastal Waterway. We stay on the east coast in Sebastian which is about half way down the state and there were some nights that went below freezing and daytime temps in the 60′s during January. Besides getting away from the cold up north, the photography is great in Florida because many birds spend the winter there. For instance, I see so many Ospreys in January and February. In March they start heading north but enough local Osprey stay to keep it interesting. We take our camper and stay in a small campground which is located right on the Indian River. The Indian River is actually the Intracoastal Waterway and is at least a half mile wide at some points. The campground has a dock on the waterway where I take my dog and camera and sit for hours taking photos of waterbirds flying by and occasionally a Bottlenose Dolphin will come by feeding on the Mullet. This year we had a couple of Manatees spend the day sunning by the dock.
What a way to spend the winter, sitting on a dock by the water, soaking up the warm sun, and taking pictures of wildlife passing by. I also visit some of the nature areas nearby like the Merritt Island NWR at Cape Canaveral and the Viera Wetlands just above Melbourne.