lazza
Well-known member
Just back from a family holiday in Orlando, Florida, the last 2 weeks of August and first week of September, and thought it would be worthwhile posting a little about my experiences in terms of birding on a Disney holiday!
So, to be clear from the start: this was a non-birding holiday! We were in Florida for a family holiday, and were focused on theme parks. We had tickets for all the Disney Parks and Universal, and also visited SeaWorld and its sister park, Discovery Cove. We had almost no “time off” in our itinerary, although I did manage to crowbar a day at “Wild Florida” into the schedule, which is a wildlife park that also has airboat tours out into the nearby lakes and cypress swamps.
I mostly left my binoculars in the villa (my wife pointed out it might be a bit creepy to have them at water parks…), but I did have a couple of evening and early morning strolls around the development where we stayed (in an estate called Polk Park East, near Four Corners, just 15 minutes’ drive west of Walt Disney World). So most of my observations come from what I could see and identify by eye or from hastily taken photos (in among the photos of giant mice and anthropomorphic ducks). I had no field guide, as such, but had hastily printed out a check-list from Avibird, and had done a little bit of research on-line what wildlife to expect at Florida theme parks. And I’m also not a true birder in the sense that I can pick out species from songs or know how to put an identity to a briefly seen LBJ….!
Nevertheless, I hope this overview will be useful for anyone else who finds themselves in the same situation.
So, to be clear from the start: this was a non-birding holiday! We were in Florida for a family holiday, and were focused on theme parks. We had tickets for all the Disney Parks and Universal, and also visited SeaWorld and its sister park, Discovery Cove. We had almost no “time off” in our itinerary, although I did manage to crowbar a day at “Wild Florida” into the schedule, which is a wildlife park that also has airboat tours out into the nearby lakes and cypress swamps.
I mostly left my binoculars in the villa (my wife pointed out it might be a bit creepy to have them at water parks…), but I did have a couple of evening and early morning strolls around the development where we stayed (in an estate called Polk Park East, near Four Corners, just 15 minutes’ drive west of Walt Disney World). So most of my observations come from what I could see and identify by eye or from hastily taken photos (in among the photos of giant mice and anthropomorphic ducks). I had no field guide, as such, but had hastily printed out a check-list from Avibird, and had done a little bit of research on-line what wildlife to expect at Florida theme parks. And I’m also not a true birder in the sense that I can pick out species from songs or know how to put an identity to a briefly seen LBJ….!
Nevertheless, I hope this overview will be useful for anyone else who finds themselves in the same situation.