Gear Up for the Start of Birding Season

South Florida’s skies are filled with fascinating feathered residents and seasonal visitors. Here’s where to find them—and how to get started.

Valerie Staggs

September 3, 2026

Volunteers inspect a Swallow-tailed kite, who wears a falconer’s hood to reduce stress.

Birding for Beginners

During the fall migration season, South Florida is the thoroughfare for birds on their way south. “We are part of the Atlantic Flyway for migration,” says Lorraine Sulick-Morecraft, a board member at the Audubon Society of Martin County. “Birds up north who have finished breeding head for their winter grounds and come down our coast.” Local parks and preserves are often waystations for migrating birds, giving enthusiasts great opportunities to see a diversity of birds including songbirds, shorebirds, raptors, hawks, and falcons. Audubon Society outreach volunteer and birder Jill Gleichman offers these tips for new birders.

Take a Field Trip. “Our chapter organizes guided birding trips and educational programs in the community,” Gleichman says. “Field trips are a great way to learn.”
Download a Birding App. “The eBird app will show you what birds other people are seeing in an area so you know where to go and what to look for,” she says.
Visit a Birding Hotspot. “Jonathan Dickinson State Park is the number one hotspot in the area,” Gleichman advises. “Possum Long Nature Center is a great place to see warblers. To see all the pretty birds, visit Halpatiokee Regional Park.”
Start Where You Are. “Start identifying birds in your neighborhood first,” Gleichman says. “Then build up from there.”

An identification leg band is affixed to a Swallow-tailed Kite’s leg.

Feathered Film Stars

The Swallow-tailed Kite is the star of a film that debuted at the Florida Environmental Film Festival. Shot in the Loxahatchee Slough and Cypress Creek Natural Area in northern Palm Beach County, Tracking Kites documents the efforts of local conservationists and scientists from the Avian Research & Conservation Institute (ARCI) as they trap and tag Swallow-tailed Kites for scientific study and tracking.

American redstarts like this one can be spotted in South Florida during migration season throughout the fall.

“This film is something I have been wanting to do for as long as we have been involved with ARCI,” says Benji Studt, outreach and science communication lead at Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management (PBCERM) and executive producer of the film. Studt is featured in the film working alongside scientists from ARCI and conservationists from the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society. “They are a forgotten bird,” he says. “They have seen dramatic population declines, but they are not protected.”

Noted for their deeply forked tails and black and white plumage, Swallow-tail Kites nest locally between February and August. The trackers ARCI placed on these birds offers important data, says Studt. “Migratory birds are an indicator of how we are doing globally and how we are impacting the environment. The goal of the film is to make the connection not just how special the land and animals here are, but that we are a part of it.”

Courtesy of Palm Beach County Library System

Birding Packs

Whether you live in Palm Beach County or Martin County, check in at your local library and reserve a Birding Backpack to get started on your avian adventure. Backpacks contain everything a beginning birder needs including binoculars, birding guides, and checklists. Anyone with a library card can check them out for free. So put on a comfortable pair of shoes, grab a backpack, and head out to a local park or preserve to meet some new feathered friends.