Anna Maria Island | Bird Watching on Island Shores

It doesn’t get any easier than this. There is no need to travel or even go outside to do some bird watching on Anna Maria Island. In fact, at my house, sometimes the herons watch me at least as much as I watch them. As you can see from the photo, binoculars are not necessary to get a great close-up look at a great blue heron.

Anna Maria Island is a bird sanctuary. In recent years, important nesting of several species, including lesser terns, has taken place on the island shores near Bean Point. The area has been roped off so people won’t accidentally step on the birds, which are hard to see when they are nesting in the sand.

In particular, we try to make our yard a bird sanctuary, too. We use no chemicals on the lawn. When families of ibis wander across the yard, pecking the ground the entire way, we feel good in knowing they are not being exposed to pesticides or fertilizers. We have chosen not to own a cat or dog since our priority is to provide wild animals a sense of security on our property.

We do not feed the birds. We provide them with a large bucket of fresh water. Great egrets often come to the bucket, perch on the rim, and take a drink. The great blue herons frequent the water bucket every day, too. In addition to the water, they seem to like rubbing their bills on the bucket.

Many herons nest in the Australian pines near our house. Today we saw three large chicks in a high nest begging for food. The parent arrived and the chicks flapped their small wings and grabbed the parent’s bill repeatedly, demanding to be fed. Eventually we saw a fish come out of the mouth of the adult heron, and into the nest.

Some of the more unusual birds we have seen on or near our property have included a roseate spoonbill, pileated woodpeckers and magnificent frigatebirds. American white pelicans sometimes arrive at around Christmas, looking like angels. More common are the brown pelicans, wood storks, green herons, little blue herons, night herons, great blue herons, ibis, red-tailed hawks, ospreys, mourning doves, mockingbirds, cardinals, palm warblers, crows, kingfishers, ducks, willets, seagulls, cormorants, anhingas, skimmers, turkey vultures, and groups of wild parakeets flying noisily overhead.

Be sure to bring your binoculars. It’s a bird watcher’s paradise on Anna Maria Island shores.

Related posts:

1. Great Blue Heron Rookery – Fledglings The 3 Great Blue Heron chicks that we referred to in the story Great Blue Heron Rookery have now fledged and left the nest. In the past week, first one, then two, and finally the third have taken short departures...
2. Small Birds of Anna Maria Island This spring we have noticed surprisingly large numbers of small birds in our yard and the nearby neighborhoods of Anna Maria Island. We become so used to the larger great blue herons, pelicans, ospreys, egrets, ibises and wood storks that...
3. Great Blue Heron Rookery A couple of Great Blue Herons nesting in Bimini Bay have produced 3 chicks this season. These are the first to appear out of 6 7 active nests. The most popular spot for the rookery is high up in...
4. Watching Out for Sea Turtles on Anna Maria Island Watching out for sea turtles does not mean actually watching sea turtles. In fact, the fewer encounters these ancient creatures have with humans, the better. The dedicated volunteers of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch understand this. Even the volunteers...
5. Wildlife Rescue on Anna Maria Wildlife rescue is a whole incredible world of its own on Anna Maria Island. While locals and visitors go about their business every day, several dedicated and generous people devote their time to saving the unfortunate wild animals that...