Birding in Orlando Florida in 2006.

While Tiana and the kids were at the various Disney Parks , i was tearing around Florida in a rental doing  some enjoyable birding.

The highlight of the birding was going to Cypress Lake and going out on an Airboat to do the birding.  I figured that Osprey Tours sounded like the right people to do the morning trip with.

Before we even got onto the airboat I saw my first osprey and the trip went uphill from there. Least Bittern , Red winged Blackbird , American Coot , American Crow , Mottled Duck , Bald Eagle , Great Egret , Purple Gallinule , Red Shouldered Hawk , Great Blue Heron , Tri Colored Heron , White Ibis , Glossy Ibis , Killdeer , Belted Kingfisher , Common Moorhen , Osprey , Common Snipe , Black Necked Stilt , Wild Turkey , Downey Woodpecker and Lesser Yellow Legs. At one point we had 7 Bald eagle circling around us. If you are ever in the area it a very big must do.

On the road between the Disney resorts and Cypress Lake i saw  Crested Caracara , Sandhill Crane , Whooping Crane , American Crow , Cattle Egret , Blue Jay , American Kestrel , Eastern Medowlark , Loggerhead Shrike , Wood Stork , Eastern Towhee , Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture.

Another good spot was  Gatorland , and not for the alligators , but for the birds scavenging food. Here i found Black Vulture , Tricolored Heron , Little Blue Heron , Great Blue Heron , Great Egret ,Northern Rough-wing swallow , White  Ibis , Black Crowned Night Heron , Northern Mockingbird , Northern Cardinal and  Snowy Egret .

See the difference between Snowy and Great Egret.

Birding in the Disney Resorts produced Anhinga , American Coot , American Crow , Common Ground Dove , Mourning Dove , Great Egret , Cattle Egret , Vermillion Flycatcher , Blue-gray Gnatcatcher , Common Grackle , Boat Tailed Grackle , Red Shouldered Kite , Great Blue Heron , Little Blue Heron , Tricolored Heron , White Ibis , Blue Jay , Northern Cardinal , Mallard , Northern Mockingbird , Common Moorhen , House Sparrow , European Starling , Wild Turkey , Black Vulture , Turkey Vulture , Pine Warbler and  Red Bellied Woodpecker.

All in all great birding on a Disney Holiday.