Florida Bird Photography Locations

Honeymoon Island State Park

City: Clearwater / Dunedin

GPS: N28 03.645 W82 49.127

Honeymoon Island is a State Park located along the gulf in Dunedin a small area near Clearwater. The Island is assessed by a bridge (Dunedin Causeway ) and is amongst one of the best land based areas in the state to photograph Ospreys. The Ospreys nest in the park as well as hunt in the waters that surround the island. Shorebirds can usually be found in the less populated beach areas of the park and many will nest up on the northern end of the Island. The only access to this area of the park is a long walk or by boat. Due note that most of the area used by the birds is roped off and closed during nesting season to protect the ground nests from being trampled. Depending on how close the birds nest to the boundaries some good shots can still be had. There has been a pair of Great Horned Owls nesting (they steal an Ospeys nest) in the park for a number of years. Various songbirds can be found in the park at different times of the year. Magnificent Frigatebirds can be seen during the summer months hunting the waters around the park and flying over.

The park is normally not open at or before sunrise so many choose to photograph Dunedin Causeway first. Annual pass holders are suppose to be able to get the gate code to get in earlier for specific purposes (ie: fishing). I can only suggest checking with the park staff about this. The mosquitoes can be very thick in the interior of the park so I would definitely bring a bug repellant. More information about park hours, etc. can be found at: http://www.floridastateparks.org/honeymoonisland/

Caladesi Island State Park is located just across St. Josephs Sound from Honeymoon Island. The only access to this park is by boat. Honeymoon Island runs a ferryboat back and forth during the day but the operating hours won’t suit photographers very well. There are a number of islands in St. Josephs Sound that various waders and shorebirds use for nesting. One of the islands is the summer roosting island to the colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds that can be spotted in the area. I conduct personalized tours to all these locations, please contact me if interested. Spring and summer are the best times.

Directions: There are various ways to reach this area. I will highlight the easiest from the Tampa Airport area.
Take Route 60 / Courtney Campbell Causeway towards Clearwater, west. After exiting the causeway take a right on to US 19 heading north. Continue north until you see signs for Rt 586, also know as Curlew Road. Head west on Rt 586, it will head right into the causeway and become Causeway Blvd. Cross the causeway and continue to the park gate.