We're wanting to take Mom on a trip to Florida bay for some
birdwatching fun. We're thinking a houseboat's the way to go. I've
searched online and come up with a few places in Key Largo and one in
Flamingo. Does anyone have any leads to share?

Also I'm wondering about the best time of year for this. Dec, Jan
and maybe Feb seem like pretty safe bets to see birds and avoid bugs
but what about March, April? I'd like to push later so as to get
longer daylight hours but I don't want to miss good birding season.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

John

As to some of the houseboat rental co.s , check out the boats first. Some are
Krap.

Flamingo has nicer boats, but not as nice places to go.

A lot depends on what kind of birds you are looking for. SW Florida has just
about all of the wading birds and you might be able to stay in a nice hotel,
taking day trips out on the flats.

On 19 Nov 2003 00:08:36 GMT, (Florida Keyz) wrote:

As to some of the houseboat rental co.s , check out the boats first. Some are
Krap.

Flamingo has nicer boats, but not as nice places to go.

Thanks, I'll ask about the boats. Can you elaborate on the choices of
places basing out of Flamingo vs elsewhere?

On 19 Nov 2003 00:46:03 GMT, (Greg) wrote:

A lot depends on what kind of birds you are looking for. SW Florida has just
about all of the wading birds and you might be able to stay in a nice hotel,
taking day trips out on the flats.

Um...I'll have to ask the experts in the family. I kind of thought
whatever birds came down there for the winter would generally head
back north by a certain time. I was wondering if March would be too
late to see them for instance.

Um...I'll have to ask the experts in the family. I kind of thought
whatever birds came down there for the winter would generally head
back north by a certain time. I was wondering if March would be too
late to see them for instance.


Like I said, it all depends on which birds you are looking for.
These guys are the local authority about birds we have here but I regularly see
most of the wading birds (egrets, herons, ibis, spoonbills) year around.

Sorry I forgot the link

http://www.dingdarlingsociety.org/Th...tion/the_j_n__
_ding__darling_nation.html

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:03:08 -0500, John/Charleston
wrote:

We're wanting to take Mom on a trip to Florida bay for some
birdwatching fun.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

John,

Do a little research on the J. N. Ding Darling wildlife preserve on
Sanibel Island. It's just off Ft. Myers on Florda's west coast.
It's a driving tour through about 6,000 acres of mangrove marsh.
There is a road atop a dyke that is used to help in mosquito control.
It's a big hit wth the bird watching crowd. I certainly enjoyed it.
Just another option, good luck.

bb

You will have to be careful, I usually am down in the Florida Keys during
around May or June, I find the seas to be calmest then. If you go during
other times you run the risks of high seas and those house boats just are
not too fun. Especially trying to take photos. I know some days can get hot,
and usually when there is a high weather condition it can get hot, but the
Bay and Ocean are like glass and bill fish are in, reefs are fun, etc etc,
if the seas are rough, it aint no fun.





"bb" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:03:08 -0500, John/Charleston
wrote:

We're wanting to take Mom on a trip to Florida bay for some
birdwatching fun.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

John,

Do a little research on the J. N. Ding Darling wildlife preserve on
Sanibel Island. It's just off Ft. Myers on Florda's west coast.
It's a driving tour through about 6,000 acres of mangrove marsh.
There is a road atop a dyke that is used to help in mosquito control.
It's a big hit wth the bird watching crowd. I certainly enjoyed it.
Just another option, good luck.

bb

You will have to be careful, I usually am down in the Florida Keys during
around May or June, I find the seas to be calmest then. If you go during
other times you run the risks of high seas and those house boats just are
not too fun. Especially trying to take photos. I know some days can get hot,
and usually when there is a high weather condition it can get hot, but the
Bay and Ocean are like glass and bill fish are in, reefs are fun, etc etc,
if the seas are rough, it aint no fun.

I don't know if the water in Florida Bay is calm in May or June. But I
don't think there are many birds to see during that time. Last time
when I went there (Everglades) in June, I could count the number of
birds that I saw in a boat trip in Everglades in one hand. I am afraid
that the person who initiated this thread would be disappointed if he
went there in May or June because I believe one of his objective is to
see birds.

Jay Chan