>I'm off to Orlando for a conference the end of the month, and have a couple
>of extra days for exploring. I've never been to Florida nor spent time
>anywhere in the SE.
>
>I'm looking for places to see birds and manatees and other wildlife--in the
>wild, not at Disney!--any suggestions, or pointers to good guidebooks or web
>sites?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Karen
>
>\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
>\ Karen McMains karen.mcmains at wwu.edu /
>\ WWU Admissions (360)650-3858 /
>\ Bellingham, WA 98225-9009 www.wwu.edu /
>\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
>
>
>
>,

Number One: get the ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guide, A Birder's Guide
to Florida. ABA's 800 number is 1-800-634-7736.

Number Two: if you have any target birds, find local contacts for
the less common ones. I dipped on Red-cockaded Woodpecker due to
incomplete information. My first staked-out disappointment had a
hunter's tent tied to it with loud music blaring from inside the
tent. And this was on a state wildlife management area!

Number Three: last fall when I was in the Orlando area (actually
the Kissimmee area near Disney) for a conference, I enjoyed spending
my spare time in the area south of St. Cloud. Highlights
were members of the introduced Whooping Crane flock and Crested Caracara.
Also enjoyed watching Snail Kites feed at dusk at Brinson Park in
Kissimmee.

Number Four: Merritt Island NWR as Don Baccus suggests. My regret is
I didn't give it enough time. Beautiful view of white and dark-morph
Reddish Egrets feeding together.

Number Five: spend some quiet time in the pinewoods. Don't race through
on your way between wetlands. If you've never spent time in the southeast,
you'll enjoy the variety of new songbirds singing all around you (actually
if they were old friends, you'd still enjoy them).

Number Six: do your homework. If you've never been to Florida,
study the books ahead of time to know what to expect.

--Jerry <tangren at crcwnet.com>