Watch for these 9 birds migrating across Florida’s skies this fall

Have your binoculars handy this autumn when Florida experiences many species’ southward migration.

Apart from its cooler, more comfortable temperatures, autumn is a notable time of year in the Sunshine State because of the countless species of seabirds, shorebirds, and land birds that migrate here each year. According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office, or UF/IFAS, the autumn migration of many birds who head south to spend their winters in warmer climates begins in September and usually continues through November.

For some birds, Florida is simply a stop-over on their way to winter homes in the southern hemisphere, but for many species, including several types of song-singing warblers and perching passerines, Florida’s leafy trees and coastal habitats comprise the perfect environment to enjoy the year’s end. 

Ready to spot Florida’s high-flying visitors? Before you grab your guidebook and dust off your binoculars, prepare with this list of birds you’re most likely to spot across Florida this autumn:

1. Blue-gray gnatcatcher

The freshwater wetlands of South Florida are the perfect autumn home for the blue-gray gnatcatcher, a tiny and long-tailed bird that forages for spiders and insects among the tops of trees, usually in broadleaf forests or scrublands. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to spot a blue-gray gnatcatcher darting into the air to chomp on an insect mid-flight, but it’s more likely you’ll at least hear its call, a short and whiny tune that’s earned it the nickname “the little mockingbird.”

Photo courtesy of Christina Brinza/Unsplash.

2. Palm warbler

Keep your gaze set low to the ground to catch a glimpse of the palm warbler, a bird who loves to bob and wag its tail and flit around near the bottoms of palm trees. Usually brownish or olive in color with a bright, rust-colored cap, palm warblers may also sport a bright yellow belly or a paler shade, depending on the subspecies.

According to All About Birds, an online guide to birdwatching, palm warblers usually head south to coastal regions in South Florida and the Caribbean in late August, where they’ll spend the autumn and winter.

Photo courtesy of Patrice Bouchard/Unsplash.

3. Cooper’s hawk

The experts at Bird Watcher’s Digest recommend visiting Guana River State Park in Ponte Vedra Beach, about 20 miles north of St. Augustine, or Boot Key and Curry Hammock State Park near Marathon in the Florida Keys during the first two weeks of October to marvel at the movement of Cooper’s hawks, raptors whose wintering grounds include Florida and Central and South America.

If it’s a Cooper’s hawk sighting you’re after, consider birdwatching without a full stomach: These mid-sized woodland hawks prepare their meals by repeatedly squeezing or drowning their prey, a marvel of nature that could make any seasoned birdwatcher a bit queasy.

Photo courtesy of Molly Wright/Unsplash.

4. Yellow-bellied sapsucker

A bird with a chuckle-inducing name and awe-inspiring, bright plumage, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is a woodpecker who feeds by drilling tiny holes in tree bark in order to slurp up the sap that drips out with its brush-tipped tongue.

As the Florida Times-Union reports, residents of northeast Florida areas like Jacksonville will spot these birds between late September and April, when they travel south to feast on sap from sweetgum, loquat, lacebark elm, and flowering pear trees.

Photo courtesy of Jack Bulmer/Unsplash.

5. Pectoral sandpiper

According to Bird Watcher’s Digest, you’re sure to spot hundreds of pectoral sandpipers hopping about the flooded fields and sod farms that dot Belle Glade, an area just south of Lake Okeechobee. Watch where you step if you’re crossing an area with lots of vegetation, as pectoral sandpipers feed on the ground in or near vegetation, picking and probing their beaks into mud in search of insects and other invertebrate species.

As All About Birds notes, pectoral sandpiper populations have experienced a steep decline over the last forty years, likely due to the environmental degradation and loss of freshwater wetland habitats in which to migrate.

Photo courtesy of Joshua J. Cotten/Unsplash.

6. Wilson’s phalarope

Like the pectoral sandpiper mentioned above, Wilson’s phalaropes are also members of the Scolopacidae family, but they lead lives very different from their fellow fliers. Phalaropes enjoy a reversal of the sex roles of most birds: females usually grow bigger and sport more colorful plumage than their male counterparts, and they take control during courtship rituals. In turn, male Wilson’s phalaropes incubate eggs and care for their young.

Both sexes enjoy spending their autumns in inland freshwater habitats: you can spot them in shallow prairie lakes like those found in Payne’s Prairie just south of Gainesville, or in fresh marshes, mudflats, ponds, or the occasional sewage treatment plant.

Photo courtesy of Joshua J. Cotten/Unsplash.

7. Piping plover

Bird Watcher’s Digest identifies coastal habitats like Honeymoon Island State Park and Fort de Soto County Park in the Tampa Bay area, as well as Tigertail Beach in Naples, as prime viewing grounds to catch glimpses of the piping plover.

This threatened species might be hard to observe without a discerning eye, and surely without your binoculars, as their sandy gray coats blend in with the colors of the ocean’s shoreline. Once they catch a little speed, however, their bright orange legs are sure to catch your attention. 

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

8. Forster’s tern

Mark your calendars and plan a trip either to the Tampa Bay area or the Space Coast in September if you want to witness thousands of terns gathering along the coastline. As Bird Watcher’s Digest notes, both the Sebastian Inlet and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Atlantic coast, as well as Honeymoon Island and Fort DeSoto on the Gulf, provide the perfect habitats for these medium-sized seabirds.

Often confused with the common tern, Forster’s terns sport longer tails and a distinctive, black eye patch on their nonbreeding plumage. Spot them hunting for small fish by plunging into the ocean from heights of 50 feet or more, or foraging among the incoming tides.

Photo courtesy Daniel Mirlea/Unsplash.

9. Northern gannet

November is the ideal month to view large gatherings of northern gannets, who spend their autumns in the coastal waters surrounding Florida. Through your binoculars, you’ll be able to see their sharp bills, pointed tails, long and slender wings, as well as their gold-tipped crowns.

If you’re lucky, you’ll witness the marvel of gannets’ hunting prowess: usually a whole flock will descend upon the ocean at once, loudly vocalizing until the moment they plunge into the water, which they can swim into at depths reaching 72 feet.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.