Dry Tortugas in Key West Florida
So far, the 2009 bird watching season out on the Dry Tortugas has been one of the best in recent history. Best On Key West, the top tour and activity providers in Key West and for Dry Tortugas trips. This fall, the crew at Best On Key West.com and Dry Tortugas Info.com are gearing up for the final surge of migratory birds that will pass through the islands between August and October. Special bird watching trips are being planned for several days throughout the months and an expert naturalist will be on board the Yankee Freedom to speak to guests about the different types of birds that find a home on the Dry Tortugas.
Prime bird watching season technically runs from March to September. These are the months when you will find a large quantity of nesting birds on the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson ( http://www.drytortugasinfo.com ). Two particular species – the Brown Noddy Tern and the Black Noddies – use the islands of the Dry Tortugas ( http://www.drytortugasinfo.com ), located 70 miles off the coast of Key West Florida, as a nesting ground during the summer months. Many bird watchers come to the islands to see these resident species, but during the fall and spring months, hundreds of other bird species make their way through the Dry Tortugas, often spending a few weeks there as they migrate from North to South or South to North.
The migratory birds of the upcoming fall season can sometimes number up to 300 in different species, but some of the most common species include Roseate and Bridled Terns, Red-Necked Phalarope, Red-Footed Boobies, White-Tailed Tropicbirds, Shiny Cowbirds, and Golden Warblers.
“I find that most bird watchers that come out here are more intrigued by the migratory birds because they are so much rarer to spot,” says Dry Tortugas Info crew member Jen Golding. “We give visitors campers these bird checklists and help them figure out which birds are which, and people have a blast with that.”
While the months of September and October are low season in Key West, nature lovers know that these months are prime time to head to the Dry Tortugas for bird watching. Dry Tortugas Info.com runs daily trips out there on the Fast Cat and Yankee Freedom ferries.
Dry Tortugas Info is a branch of Best On Key West, a leading tour and activity operator in Key West that provides Key West snorkeling ( http://www.bestonkeywest.com ) trips, jet ski tours, and many other Key West tours for the whole family.
Photo:
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