Birds of Paradise on Sanibel Island

There are plenty of flowers on Sanibel Island, though no Birds of Paradise. Neither are there feathered Birds of Paradise to be found.

But Sanibel Island is the habitat for nearly 240 species of birds, ranging from the tiny beach goers to the large raptors.

And, because Sanibel is referred to as a paradise, virtually all its resident birds could be considered "birds of paradise"!

It is not just the variety of birds that live on the island that make it so special, but the sheer numbers of birds that are present every where that makes bird watching so easy.

The Ding Darling Nature preserve is a great place to see almost all the birds that call Sanibel home, but they can be seen in every day activities as well.

The sandpipers run freely along the water's edge on most parts of the Island, and especially so on Bowman's Beach.

Any body of fresh water with a low level will attract the gorgeous spoonbills with their pink finery. We have seen them frequently in the lagoon behind our vacation rental condo at Blind Pass.

Sitting on our porch at at our vacation rental home, Toucan House, we have heard the delightful call of the chuck's will-widow, seen pileated woodpeckers at "work" on our palm trees and watched osprey and eagles perched high above keeping a look out below.

You don't need to make a special effort to see birds on the Island, and you don't need any special equipment. Even binoculars are not necessary given the abundance and accessibility of these beautiful feathered angels.

For a complete list of these "Birds of Paradise", see the PDF document on the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation website.