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Ted Miller
05-08-2009, 10:54 PM
A couple weeks ago I was flying over the everglades as my plane headed for a connecting flight at Miami airport. The thought occurred to me--I could have scheduled a layover there, and gotten a look at all those Florida birds that you guys all talk about (and take pictures of). I will probably be down that direction in the next year or so again, and so am looking for some advice. Things like


If I fly into Miami in the afternoon and rent a car, where would I go for the first night (to get away from the sights, sounds, and prices of the city)?
If I had one full day (come in tonight, bird all day tomorrow, fly out the morning after) what would you recommend I do with it?
What if I could arrange two days?
What would I want to for sure have with me?
What might I think I should do that I am better off forgetting all about?

My budget would be fairly meager, so don't suggest I join so-and-so's tour for $500 a day, though I could probably scrape together $100-200 to join a group tour, with the higher figure being if joining a group would allow me to use public transportation, and so avoid the rental car fees.

My main interest would be in seeing and photographing the birds that never even get close to the Mason-Dixon line (I live in Indiana).

Judd Patterson
05-08-2009, 11:59 PM
Ted, this is an excellent set of questions. I'm more than happy to offer you some advice. Let me say for starters that it does matter what season you fly through. If you are here late November-early April I wouldn't hesitate to refer you directly to Everglades National Park to escape the city and to enjoy the wildlife and wildlands (and I could give you more specific recommendations in the park too). However, outside of that time period and the mosquitoes and bird activity change the picture a bit. In the off-season I think you would enjoy a location like Green Cay or Wakodahatchee up in the Delray Beach area because it has birds year-round...but it is surrounded by "urban jungle".

I gotta get a little sleep now so that I can go explore more of South Florida tomorrow morning, but I'll add some more advice soon. :)

Ted Miller
05-09-2009, 01:08 AM
Let me say for starters that it does matter what season you fly through. If you are here late November-early April I wouldn't hesitate to refer you directly to Everglades National Park to escape the city and to enjoy the wildlife and wildlands (and I could give you more specific recommendations in the park too). However, outside of that time period and the mosquitoes and bird activity change the picture a bit. In the off-season I think you would enjoy a location like Green Cay or Wakodahatchee up in the Delray Beach area because it has birds year-round...but it is surrounded by "urban jungle".

I have little control over when I get sent on a trip in that direction "When a client needs my services" I get sent.


I gotta get a little sleep now so that I can go explore more of South Florida tomorrow morning, but I'll add some more advice soon. :)

Don't be offended if I don't respond immediately. Wife and I are headed for Magee Marsh (migration trap east of Toledo, OH) for some (hopefully) peak migration birding into part of next week.

My first real bird photo trip with my D300 was a year ago to Magee. Saw a lot of birds, learned a lot, deleted hundreds of photos (especially since I am using older MF lenses, mostly 300mm f4.5), but got a few worth printing. Hope that some practice since then will result in a few more keepers this year.

Alfred Forns
05-09-2009, 08:04 PM
Hi Ted For South Florida the best time would be Jan/Feb and you can go from the airport to Florida City about half hour drive. From there you are close to Everglades National Park. Can do a day or more ... neat place.

I also like the suggestion by Judd of heading North to Waco and Green Cay It all depends on the time of year. Just post the time you will be coming and well give you the best location ... and specifics.

.... good luck with the little guys !!

Judd Patterson
05-11-2009, 11:18 PM
Like Alfred mentioned, from the airport is a rather quick 30-40 minutes to Florida City/Homestead which is the gateway to Everglades. Many photographers stay at one of the hotels like the Holiday Inn Express...or you could camp in the park at Long Pine Key as long as it isn't May-October (way too many mosquitoes!) A completely different option would be to head inland via Tamiami Trail (Hwy 41) and visit places like Shark Valley (Everglades), Loop Road (Big Cypress), Fakahatchee Strand State Park, and onto Tigertail Beach (Marco Island) where you can pick up waders, shorebirds, and burrowing owls. It takes several hours to drive over to Marco Island, but it is feasible if you wanted to explore lots of habitat types in a short period of time. Let us know when a client brings you down this way and we can give more specific advice based on recent activity.

Enjoy it up at Magee! It sounds like that birding hotspot is insanely busy this time of year.