Florida’s flamingos are getting their pink back. After all but disappearing from South Florida over the past century due to hunting and habitat loss, small groups have been spotted in recent years in the Everglades and nearby coastal wetlands. Now the state’s lawmakers are considering a proposal that would celebrate the American flamingo’s unlikely ecological renaissance and cultural symbolism by making it the state bird, an honor currently held by the northern mockingbird.
Everglades National Park is the most famous place to spot these gawky creatures and other rare Florida wildlife. But beyond the park’s western boundary, in the area of Collier County known as the Paradise Coast, travelers will find a kaleidoscope of ecosystems—cypress forests, mangrove estuaries, coastal islands, and sprawling freshwater marshes—where Florida’s rare creatures still thrive.
Across this region, some of the state’s most compelling conservation stories unfold daily. The endangered Florida panther roams the forests north of Naples. Roseate spoonbills flash their own pink feathers as they glide across coastal inlets. In winter, manatees drift along mangrove channels. And, increasingly, the American flamingo can be found here too.
In the decade-plus since I moved to Fort Lauderdale, I’ve come to regard this region as a vital escape, trekking dozens of times through orchid-filled swamp forests and mangrove labyrinths that stretch toward the Gulf. My own sightings of both the American flamingo and the roseate spoonbill have been very, very rare, but this ecologically rich landscape offers unparalleled opportunities for encounters with South Florida’s signature species. Here are the best places to go looking for six of the area’s most iconic animals.
American flamingos in the Ten Thousand Islands
Spotting a flamboyance of flamingos—as flocks are known—still feels like winning the wildlife lottery. But as the birds reclaim parts of their historic range, visitors’ odds are getting better. American flamingos are most commonly found in the Ten Thousand Islands, a vast mangrove archipelago stretching south of Naples, where they gather in the area’s shallow coastal lagoons, often alongside pelicans, egrets, and other wading birds. Ask a park ranger where the most recent sightings have taken place. Boat tours departing from Marco Island, the biggest in the chain, offer the best vantage points as well as guides who can point out pops of pink in the flats among the trees. (Marco Island Boat Tours offers a satisfying three-and-a-half hour ride.) Even if you don’t get to see a flamingo, the surrounding ecosystem still delivers plenty of spectacle. Dolphins surf boat wakes in the Gulf, ospreys circle overhead, and the maze of densely wooded islands imparts a wonderful feeling of being a million miles away from it all.
Florida panthers at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Rare and elusive, Florida panthers are a dream find for area wildlife lovers.
Photo by Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Fewer than 250 of these elusive and solitary big cats remain in the wild, but much of their habitat lies within Collier County. One of the best places to go for a glimpse of them is Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, a 77,000-acre wilderness often called the Amazon of North America. Its swamp forests are filled with towering royal palms, cypress strands, and bromeliad-covered trees. Seeing one up close is extremely rare, but visitors occasionally spot fresh tracks or catch sight of one crossing a trail at a distance, especially at dawn or dusk. The park’s Janes Memorial Scenic Drive, accessible via a tram tour or high-clearance vehicle, cuts through their habitat. The Florida panther isn’t the only rare species you might see in Fakahatchee. It’s also home to the largest concentration of native orchids in North America, including the endangered ghost orchid, whose elusiveness was made famous by the author Susan Orlean.
Roseate spoonbills at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Roseate spoonbills are known for their uniquely shaped bills and bright pink plumage.
Courtesy Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
With their paddle-shaped bills and startlingly pink wing feathers, roseate spoonbills are among the most striking birds in Florida. The most likely place to spot them is Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a 13,000-acre Audubon preserve of ancient cypress forest and wetlands that lies east of Naples. Thanks to a 2.25-mile boardwalk that winds through the sanctuary, wildlife viewing is remarkably accessible. Spoonbills are most often spotted feeding in shallow water, sweeping their bills side to side through the mud in search of shellfish. The best viewing typically occurs during the dry winter season from December through March, especially early in the morning when birds gather in low wetlands.
Alligators at Big Cypress National Preserve
Alligators live throughout much of Florida, though Big Cypress National Preserve (right) is an especially great place to spot them.
Photo by Nadezda Murmakova/Shutterstock (L); photo by photravel_ru/Shutterstock (R)
Fun fact: South Florida is the only place on Earth where American alligators and American crocodiles coexist in the wild, although crocodiles tend to stay closer to coastal estuaries while alligators dominate freshwater wetlands. For reliable sightings of alligators, head inland to Big Cypress National Preserve, where thousands of the reptiles inhabit the sawgrass prairies and cypress swamps. There places where you can pull over to watch them basking along the canals, including HP Williams Roadside Park, the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center, and the Oasis Visitor Center. Winter, when cooler temperatures draw alligators out of deeper water to warm themselves along the banks, is prime viewing season. It’s often possible to see dozens from the boardwalks.
Florida black bears in Big Cypress National Preserve
Although Florida black bears are the state’s largest land mammal, with male bears weighing up to 450 pounds, many visitors aren’t even aware that they’re part of the Everglades ecosystem. One of the best places to find them is again Big Cypress National Preserve, where the mix of pinelands and wetlands provides an ideal ursine habitat. Unlike other North American black bear populations, Florida’s are always jet black, sometimes with a faint white patch on their chest. Sightings are not guaranteed, but the best opportunities come at dawn or dusk, particularly during spring and fall when bears are actively foraging in small family groups.
Manatees at Collier-Seminole State Park
Keep an eye out for manatees during the winter months, when they head toward warmer inland waters.
Courtesy of Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades CVB
South of Naples, Collier-Seminole State Park sits partly within one of the world’s largest mangrove swamps, where the tidal creeks and blackwater rivers favored by manatees wind through dense coastal forest. The most immersive way to experience this ecosystem is via the park’s 13.5-mile canoe trail, where encounters with great blue herons, river otters, and mangrove crabs are common. Winter, especially December through March, is the best time for manatee-spotting; the round, gray-brown marine mammals migrate inland to warmer waters and can frequently be spotted, looking like giant submerged potatoes, near the boat ramp and floating docks. Glimpses of a broad back or a whiskered snout briefly breaking the water are more common than a full body. Sightings of more than one or two manatees at a time are rare, though small groups do sometimes gather in favorable warm-water areas.
