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great bird information and reinforce an
appreciation of birds while also keeping
them safe. So far, more than 150 tour
guides and operators have attended these
workshops, received useful tools and
memorable “fun bird facts” to share with
their customers.
5 BEST BEACH BIRDING TIPS
• Observe birds at a distance. Often
getting too close can cause birds to “flush”
or fly off leaving vulnerable chicks exposed
to the hot sun and predators.
• If birding in a group, choose one
person as the official photographer. Noise
and commotion can disturb birds causing
them to flush.
• Do not leave trash behind on the
beach. It attracts predators and can be
ingested by birds.
• Always retrieve fishing line.
Entanglement is a main cause of death for
shorebirds.
• Do not shell near birds on the beach. This can disturb them
Tour Guides Learn the ABCs of and cause them to leave their nests.
Beach Birds with Rookery Bay TO SEE THE MANY BEAUTIFUL BIRDS
at Rookery Bay Research Reserve up close, Rookery Bay’s exclusive
ookery Bay Research Reserve is eco-tour partner Rising Tide Explorers offers intimate, small kayak
well known as a place for locals and boat tours of the most beautiful spots in the Reserve including
R and visitors to enjoy a more natural Keewaydin Island, bird rookeries at sunset and
undisturbed part of Naples. People of unique mangrove tunnels. All Rising Tide tour
all ages spend time boating, beachgoing, guides and boat captains are trained naturalists
shelling, fishing, kayaking and bird watching and biologists and have extensive knowledge of
in the Reserve’s 110,000 acres of coastal the bird life and animals of the reserve.
land and water each day. But, this is only a small sample of what To learn more about tours, visit RookeryBay.org
Rookery Bay offers the community and visitors from around the CELEBRATE BIRDS WITH ROOKERY
world. The educators and biologists of Rookery Bay Research BAY IN JANUARY!
Reserve have another mission - to educate everyone about the 2023 Festival of Birds – Field Trips, Expert
importance of preserving and protecting the native wildlife, birds Speakers and Birding Activities for All Levels of Birders and Nature
and plants of this very unique habitat. Lovers
This past year, Rookery Bay’s Coastal Training Program has The annual Festival of Birds will be held January 14-21 and
come together with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, feature guided field trips to wildlife hotspots around Southwest
Audubon Florida and Audubon of the Western Everglades to Florida, bird featured activities including watercolor painting,
educate and inform local ecotour operators and tour guides about decoy making, and lectures by birding experts at the Rookery Bay
the shorebirds of Southwest Florida. At these workshops, tour Environmental Learning Center.
guides learn from the experts how some birds spend their whole Pre-registration is required for all activities.
lives in the Reserve, some visit only in the winter and some just Register now at rookerybay.org or by calling 239.530.5972.
use the beaches as a quick stop to feed and rest during long Field trips include birding walks, boat trips, kayaking
migrations further south. Participants learn about adventures and swamp buggy excursions to locations such as
a wide variety of birds from the visiting tiny Big Cypress National Preserve, Bunche Beach, Clam Pass,
Red Knot to beach nesting Least Terns Corkscrew Swamp, Eagle Lakes Park, Fakahatchee Strand,
and Black Skimmers that care for Rookery Bay Reserve and Tigertail Beach.
their vulnerable little chicks on shell-
strewn sandy beaches all summer.
Most importantly, during
Rookery Bay workshops the tour
guides discover ways to enhance
their clients’ nature experience with

78 Life in Naples | January 2023