 Join the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Florida WildQuest 2024! Grab your phone and go on a wild adventure to complete scavenger hunt missions and discover some of Florida’s best spots to see wildlife and enjoy the outdoors. This year’s event will take place from April 27 through May 5 on Florida’s Wildlife Management Areas across the state. Players may be eligible a random drawing to win wilderness-inspired prizes. Visit FloridaWildQuest.com to learn more!  Nesting Great Horned Owl at St. Andrews State Park. Photo by Travis Blunden. Just three miles east of Panama City Beach, St. Andrews State Park is family-friendly birding getaway with camping, kayaking, snorkeling and more. Visit during migration to make the most of this coastal hotspot with 286 species recorded on eBird, or stop by any time to see the many birds that inhabit the park year-round. Get oriented at the visitor center right past the park entrance, where you can pick up a map and enjoy educational displays about the ecosystems you’ll soon explore. From there, head southeast to find the birds. Watch for Least Bitterns, Wood Ducks and wading birds at Buttonbrush Marsh Overlook, then continue to the park’s two half-mile trails.  Rookery at St. Andrews State Park. Heron Pond Trail takes you hiking through pine flatwoods where you’ll find Brown-headed Nuthatches, Eastern Towhees and Loggerhead Shrikes. Gator Lake Trail has an overlook with views of the rookery in spring where you’ll see nesting Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. Other birds recently sighted at the park include Red-breasted Merganser and Common Loon. Deer are also frequently found in the interior. Past Gator Lake is the West Jetty, an artificial reef where park visitors can snorkel with rays, angelfish, coral and sometimes dolphins. If you don’t have your own snorkeling gear you can rent some from the park, along with kayaks, golf carts, bikes, pontoon boats and anything else you might need to explore. Past the jetty to the northwest, you’ll find about a mile and a half of white sand beach and a fishing pier where there are a variety of shorebirds all year, including the occasional gannet. Beach wheelchairs are available upon request. For an extra adventure, book the ferry to Shell Island, a seven-mile-long undeveloped barrier island where shorebirds nest in the dunes and coastal scrub. Other island inhabitants include nesting sea turtles, ghost crabs, deer, and dolphins in the water.  A heron on the dunes at St. Andrew State Park. Photo by Travis Blunden.  Kayaking is a great way to expand your birding range. This article was contributed by John Cimbaro, a Fisheries Biologist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who enjoys birding and fishing in his spare time. Birding shapes lives. I’m a fisheries biologist today because a family friend introduced me to birding when I was 12. She led us along a park boardwalk, spotting herons, Anhingas and the prize of the trip, a Purple Gallinule. I had a good time, but it was my younger brother who really caught the birding bug. I was planning to be an astronaut, but without many astronaut activities for pre-teens I ended up tagging along with my brother. It turned out that everything he was doing was more interesting than what I was doing! Birding was a “gateway” to the outdoors from which we progressed to fishing (my future career), insect collecting, camping, hiking and boating. Amidst all these different activities, whether casting along the shoreline or pitching a tent, we were also constantly birding. Places that are good for birding are naturally great for other types of outdoor fun, and many birders enjoy more than one form of outdoor recreation. Birding is actually one of the most popular activities among recreational anglers. Many Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail sites include lakes, ponds and rivers teeming with one thing that attracts both birds and people—fish! In fact, some of Florida’s best-known bass fishing waters—Lake Okeechobee, Lake Istokpoga, and Lake Kissimmee to name a few—also have sites on the Trail.  Pack a rod and a few lures for even more fun on your next birding expedition. If you’ve ever been curious about fishing, give it try! Even if you don’t catch anything you could see a few good birds along the way. If you’re new to fishing—just like my brother and I were several decades ago—everything you need to get started is on FWC’s First Time Angler page. A few basic lures in a small tackle box or soft folding tackle bag will provide hours of fishing fun. On your next birding trip toss them in the car with a two-piece rod-and-reel. Boating (or fishing from a boat) is another wonderful way to add to your birding fun. The best look I ever got at a hunting Snail Kite was in small slough where my wife and I had anchored our kayaks, totally out of sight from the busier boardwalk and overlook where all the other birders were. A kayak will get you places no trail or boardwalk can go, including away from the crowd if you’re looking for peace and quiet. They are economical, lightweight, and easy to launch and paddle. Consider adding a rod or paddle to your next birding trip to double your fun enjoying the outdoors.  John Cimbaro combining his love of fishing and birding. This particular kayaking trek provided not only peaceful paddling and fish, but Wood Ducks, Mottled Ducks, Bobwhite Quail, Wilson’s Snipe, Eastern Meadowlarks, Sandhill Cranes, a bevy of heron species, a Northern Harrier, a Swallow-Tailed Kite and more! | 
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