Birding has always been a popular activity, but – if you’ll pardon the pun – it’s really taken off in recent years. According to a 2022 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 96 million people in the country aged 16 and over “closely observed, fed, or photographed birds.” That’s more than double the figure cited in the same survey conducted in 2016.
Recent statistics about the number of people who take trips for birdwatching are hard to come by, but evidence points to a substantial and ever-growing legion of folks who consider birding their primary hobby — and make birdwatching part of their travel plans. National Geographic says we’re in a “birding boom.”
It just so happens that the Big Cypress National Preserve is a birding paradise. “Big Cypress is unique for its birding, mainly because of the habitat we’re in,” says Travis Mangione, a wildlife biologist at Big Cypress and an avid birder. “The feeling you get when you’re birding Big Cypress is you’re in a remote wilderness and an area that is unlike any other.”
Big Cypress consists of 729,000 acres of federally protected wetlands that are part of the greater Everglades ecosystem. It includes five distinct habitats, which makes for a larger variety of birds. Big Cypress encompasses such a vast area that, Travis says, “the density is much lower than a lot of places people like to bird, and the birds are spread out across that landscape through all the habitats.”
That means that while you’re seeking out birds in Big Cypress, you don’t have to fight for elbow room with fellow birders. It’s “more of a challenge to find the bird you’re looking for,” Travis adds, “but once you do, it feels like a real accomplishment.”
Two hundred and sixty seven bird species have been spotted in the Preserve, and, according to Travis, that number continues to expand as rare birds show up on a random basis.
Because Big Cypress has a plentitude of pine flatwoods, it has one of the largest populations of red-cockaded woodpeckers in Florida, with more than a hundred clusters. The pine woods also invite northern bobwhite quail, chuck-will’s-widow, brown-headed nuthatches, and red-headed woodpeckers. In the mangrove swamps and tropical hardwood hammocks, you’re apt to find white-crowned pigeons.
Big Cypress has enormous biodiversity and, with very few roads, most of the land is contiguous, which leads to more fish and insects for birds to eat and more habitat to nest in. The park is widely known for its wading birds — wood storks, roseate spoonbills, limpkins, herons and egrets.
Additionally, there are “a lot of cool breeding birds, such as the swallow-tailed kite, woodpeckers, and purple gallinules,” Travis says. “Though less common, we also have a lot of South Florida specialty birds, like short-tailed hawks, snail kites, gray kingbirds, crested caracaras, and many more.”
Travis’s tips for birding in Big Cypress:
- Get out in the early morning. After 9:30 a.m., the wind picks up, it gets hotter and bird activity decreases substantially.
- Go explore the backcountry. There’s only so much you can see from the road.
- Take a swamp walk. “A lot of people are scared to walk in the swamp because it’s dark water, but it’s really only dark because it’s shaded. When the sun’s above you, you can see through the water, and it’s usually firm ground. A swamp walk makes you feel like you’re going on an expedition, and it gets you closer to the birds. Almost the entire Preserve is open to off-trail hiking.”
(Guided swamp walks are available in Big Cypress, including programs led by park rangers.) - For the best birding, “I recommend the early part of the wet season (late May and June) when the cypress has just fleshed out its greenery again, and it’s not as humid as it will be later in the [summer].” But really, you can have wonderful birding expeditions any time of year.
- You don’t need to spend a lot of money. A good pair of binoculars and a field guide are recommended. You can identify bird sounds on your phone. “At the end of the day, over 50% of birding is by ear anyway. So the more you can learn those calls, you’d be surprised what you can detect, even if you don’t have binoculars.”
Be a Responsible Birder. Avoid These Behaviors:
- The use of playback — playing a recording of a birdsong — to attract a particular species is strictly prohibited.
- Don’t feed the birds. It’s illegal.
- Birds are often injured by motorists. When driving in Big Cypress, be cautious and remain on the lookout for birds and other animals.
- Don’t get too close. Refrain from touching any bird species.
- Some birds can be dangerous. Herons and egrets, which are the species most often hit on the road, have long, sharp beaks capable of spearing fish, and that means it can spear you, too.
- If you come across a sick or injured bird, it’s best to leave it be in case of avian influenza.
- If you encounter a baby bird and think the mother has abandoned it, leave it be. Most likely, the mom is out foraging. The survival of baby birds is much greater if we don’t interfere.
Ultimately, you don’t have to be an avid birder to enjoy an avian experience in Big Cypress. Just being out in the wild is invigorating, and will almost certainly instill in you a sense of wonder.
Give birding a try. Who knows? You might be one of the millions of folks who adopt it as a hobby. Big Cypress is a great place to start.
