Top 10 Birds we see on our Kayak Tours

December 11, 2017 | Paddle Marco

Our Mangrove Tunnels Kayak Tour is filled with wildlife!  Our kayak tours wouldn’t be as fun if we didn’t have amazing birds on it.  There are dozens of birds that we could list in this write-up… but to keep it simple, we listed our favorite birds that we see on our Kayak Tours.  Here’s the top 10:

White Ibis

We see White Ibis on almost every kayak tour.  We’ll see big flocks of them in the trees and we’ll spot a single White Ibis all alone walking around in the mangroves.  This bird is low on our list when it comes to the “cool-factor” but is still fun to talk about.  White Ibis have an 8″ inch bill and they eat mangrove tree crabs, fish eggs and insects. They fly less than 45 minutes per day because they love to walk.  They are also the same birds that ancient Egyptians used to put on the walls when they drew hieroglyphics and many Ibises are mummified and considered sacred.  Here on Marco Island, we call them the gang-bangers of the Island… because they walk around in packs of 10 or 15 in the middle of the street and never move out of the way for cars.

Turkey Vulture

We pretty much spot Turkey Vultures (or Buzzards) on our kayak tours every day.   Often times they are flying low, other times they are almost as high as the eye can see.  They are usually never alone.  We usually spot 3 – 20 of them at a time. They hunt by smell and they can smell a dead animal from a long ways away.  You can often find them on the side of a road or waiting for scraps from fisherman near the 951 boat ramp off Marco Island.  We like to say… “If the vultures start circling our kayaks it means we’re not going fast enough!”

Osprey

Osprey are almost a guarantee on every kayak tours.  These fish hawks are masters at fishing (hence their name) and they only eat fresh fish.  We’ll see Osprey dip into the water and grab fish during our kayak tours quite often.  Bald Eagles will chase down an Osprey and try to steal the fish, so it’s not uncommon to see Osprey vs. Eagles on our kayak tours.  Osprey are birds of prey, so we are very lucky to see them on Sundays.  (get it?).  Plenty more cheesy jokes to share with you on our kayak tours.

Cormorant

We don’t see Cormorants every day, but since Hurricane Irma, we have seen them quite a bit!  All of the down trees and branches provide a great perch for the Cormorant to sit on and scout out fish!  These birds will dive into the water and swim under the water for usually 30 seconds.  Their webbed feet help them swim as good as a fish!  In parts of Asia, some fisherman use the Cormorants to fish for them!  They put a ring around the birds neck and the bird dives into the water and grabs a fish but it can’t swallow it with the ring around it’s neck, so the fisherman grabs the fish out of the birds mouth.  The fisherman will let the bird eat after every 5th or 6th fish the bird catches.

Great Blue Heron

The biggest bird we’ll see on our kayak tours!  These guys can stand about 5 FT tall!  Often times we’ll spook one and it will let out a deep grunt or croak to warn others. They spend 90% of their waking hours looking for food.  Not much time for fun!  They can also live to be 20 years old.  We don’t see them every day, but when we do, it’s always a treat.

Reddish Egret

A rare find!  Sometimes we get lucky and find these beautiful birds prancing around at low tide on the mud flats.  They do a dance called “Shadowcasting.”  This dance casts a shadow over small fish below them and confuses the fish.  The Reddish Egret then attacks and gets his fish!  Bird lovers go crazy when they see a Reddish Egret.  Don’t get it confused with a Little Blue Heron though!

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles start appearing again during the winter and spring months on our kayak tours.  Almost every time we see them, they’ll be harassing Osprey.  Chasing down Osprey, trying to steal their fish or even steal chicks straight out of their nests!  They aren’t the nicest bird.  Seeing one is rare and they almost always put on a show for us.  We love to spot them!

Roseate Spoonbill

We’ll be honest, we see a Roseate Spoonbill only a few times per year!  When we do, it’s usually from far away and it’s hard to get a nice photo.  We were lucky to get a nice photo of this one!  These guys are pink because they eat shrimp, just like Flamingos.  In fact, most people get these birds mixed up with a Flamingo because of their color.  You can tell the difference by the Spoonbills enormous wide bill and white neck.

Tri-Colored Heron

We see quite a few Heron and Egrets, which are all part of the same family.  This particular heron has 3 colors… white, gray and light red.  The Tri-Colored heron hunts just like the other Egrets and Herons.. it stalks its prey and runs after it.  Sometimes they’ll do a dance and confuse the fish like the Reddish Egret does.

Swallow-Tailed Kite

These awesome birds arrive around Valentines day every year in southwest Florida.  They use their split tail to glide in the air effortlessly like a kite.  You’ll hardly ever see them flap their wings.  They soar above the mangroves, often diving to grab insects, frogs and lizards.  Bird lovers go crazy when they arrive because they only hang out here for a few months and then they travel back to Brazil.

Honorable Mentions that we didn’t list here:  Little Blue Heron, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Little Green Heron, Brown Pelican, White Pelican, Snowy Egret, Great White Egret, Red Shouldered Hawk, FrigateBird, Anhinga, Wood Stork and Mangrove Cuckoo.

Ready to go on a kayak tour yet?  Birds are just the beginning!  We also find Dolphins, Batfish, Conch shells, Raccoons and Crabs.

Book a Kayak Rental or Kayak Tour today!

Written by Glenn