Fort Myers & Sanibel/Lee County Traveler's Guide 2008 - (Page 29) Museum, Tarpon Bay Explorers, SanibelCaptiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) and Ostego Bay Marine Science Center, to name a few, let visitors (especially kids) o experience the best of nature, especially if Southwest Florida is a new get up close and personal with native adventure, join a guided tour. Most parks living creatures. and attractions offer them (although frebest nest quency varies), and guides are generally o introduction to Southwest Florida’s wildlife would be complete without a discussion of the avian population that gets birders all aflutter, attracting them from near and far. Hundreds of songbirds, waders, shore and wetlands species and birds of prey are permanent or part-time winter residents (Oh - that’s why they call them snowbirds!). February, March and April are Touch tank at Tarpon Bay Explorers prime viewing months, but birdinformative and well-versed in their ers can add to respective fields. More experienced their “life list” nature-minded souls can explore at their year ’round as own pace with self-guided tours and more than 300 brochures, usually located at park visitor species stop off centers and trailheads. Remember or nest in Lee Red-shouldered hawk to take ample time when trying to County. The commune with nature; best time to see saltwater species is rushing down a boardwalk at low tide (and mornings October rarely presents opportunities to view through the first part of March, at creatures going about their daily rounighttime during the summer); see tines. Speaking of routines, pay attenfresh-water birds in late spring, before tion to the rhythms of the sun, sea, rainy season has begun and the moon and stars. All have an effect on waterways have swelled. Rare birds when animals are active. And don’t are visible throughout the year forget to tune out the iPod® and to those who have the tune in your ears – times when it’s patience to watch and listen, not possible to see animals at work and coastal estuaries proand play might yield the audible pops, vide ever-changing “avianscuffles and chirps of a marine estuvision” in the skies and ary’s youthful inhabitants (think tiny on rookery islands that gar fish, mini-sized stone crabs). Touch dot the mangrove coast. tanks at the Bailey-Matthews Shell and to think that i saw it on wildlife drive T the N W W W. F O R T M Y E R S - S A N I B E L . C O M | PAGE 29 http://WWW.FORTMYERS-SANIBEL.COM
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.