Broward

At first glance, this is an unlikely birding spot, with its assortment of baseball, football, soccer and cricket fields. Look a little closer though, and you’ll notice posts with flagging tape roping off holes in the middle of fields. Believe it or not, this is one of the best sites to easily see Florida Burrowing Owls in the state. The owl population here is doing quite well, and they’re the pride and joy of park staff, who accommodate the birds’ sometimes inconvenient choices of burrow locations. Respect their space, and you’ll get excellent views. They even hunt on game nights, when insects are attracted to the ball fields’ lights!

(This park was renamed on 7/1/2016) Once overrun with invasive Australian pines, ongoing management is returning this park to its original, native condition. Check the beaches via the boardwalk accesses for wintering shorebirds like Black-bellied Plovers. The regenerating Barrier Island Nature Trail and the sea grape trees lining most of the parking lots are worth checking in migration for Prairie Warblers, Ovenbirds and others.

This small urban park is comprised mostly of campsites and a disc golf course, but is surrounded by a stand of cypress and a thick hardwood hammock. Upon entering the park, turn right at the office and park at the end of the road, where the nature trail begins. Like many small urban refugia, this hammock is good for migrants like Worm-eating Warblers, Cedar Waxwings and Yellow-billed Cuckoos in migratory months.

This 244-acre natural area is a birder’s delight with freshwater swamps, prairies and hardwood hammocks to explore. Part of the historical Cypress Creek Transverse glade, it is home to a whopping 34 species of fern, and shelters myriad birds. Painted Buntings winter here and migrants like Black-throated Blue Warblers and both waterthrushes migrate through.

This is a pleasant site to bird in cooler months and its 2-mile circular drive through the park allows easy pedestrian, wheelchair or vehicular access to some of the park’s best birding. Watch the hammocks for songbird migrants like American Redstarts, the mangrove edge for Yellow-crowned Night-herons, and the freshwater lagoons for Anhingas and more.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area offers excellent year-round birding and wildlife viewing, including twenty-four species of wood warblers, five species of vireos, Clapper Rails and Magnificent Frigatebirds. Sightings of Bobcats, Gopher Tortoises and West Indian Manatees may also be possible.

This 53-acre property is fully wheelchair-accessible and features paved trails winding between a series of wetlands. Acquired for its historical as well as its environmental value, this site hosts wintering Blue-winged Teal and Ring-necked Ducks, Belted Kingfishers, the full complement of South Florida wading birds, both yellowlegs and Wilson’s Snipe, as well as occasional nesting Killdeer in summer.

Tree Tops Park is the more developed of these two adjacent properties, with recreational fields, playgrounds, picnic shelters, restrooms and a visitor center. Nevertheless, its oaks can be worth checking for songbird migrants and its wetland boardwalk is reliable for Purple Gallinule all year, and occasional Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked and Wood Ducks in winter. Pine Island Ridge is accessed via a trail that begins behind the Tree Tops Visitor Center, and winds through towering oaks into the property.

West Lake Park consists of the Anne Kolb Nature Center (N) and West Lake Park Recreation Area (S) located on Sheridan Street. West Lake has a north and south basin located west of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Many short trails are available. At Anne Kolb, bird the mangrove boardwalks for Yellow-crowned Night Herons, and check the vantages of the ICW for shorebirds, gulls and terns. Look for soaring Short-tailed Hawks in winter.