Birdwatching isn’t just a hobby. It’s the perfect way to experience the great outdoors and enjoy all of the natural beauty surrounding us. And luckily for us, South Florida is one home to one of the world’s top-ranked birdwatching spots.
A new study by AllClear analyzed 115 wildlife hotspots around the globe to find the ultimate birdwatching destinations, with Dry Tortugas National Park coming out on top of the flock for the entire U.S. The travel insurance provider looked at everything from species diversity and climate to daily costs when it comes to birding.
Beating out heavy hitters like California’s Moss Landing and New Jersey’s Cape May Point, Dry Tortugas came in at No. 12 in the world on the ranking, earning a 52.3 ‘best birding score’ out of 100.
How Florida ranked so high
Located about 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, it may be the most peaceful national park of them all. Because it is predominately open water dotted with seven small islands, getting there requires an Overseas Highway road trip followed by a seaplane or boat.
As highlighted by the study, the park is renowned for rare migratory birds that pass through between February and April. It is also the only significant breeding colony in the continental U.S. for species like the Sooty Tern, with up to 80,000 birds nesting on Bush Key annually. Plus, the 19th-century coastal fortress on Garden Key provides a surreal backdrop to the clear turquoise waters!
In addition to Florida, Peru took the crown by securing both No. 1 and No. 2 on the list with Manú National Park (83.1/100) and Tambopata National Reserve (67.5/100). Here are the top 20 birdwatching hotspots in the world:
- Manú National Park, Peru
- Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
- Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
- The Pantanal, Porto Jofre, Brazil
- Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Ecuador
- Carara National Park, Costa Rica
- Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
- Keoladeo National Park, India
- Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, Argentina
- Kruger National Park, South Africa
- Minca, Sierra Nevada de Santra Marta, Colombia
- Dry Tortugas National Park, USA (Florida)
- Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
- Amboseli National Park, Kenya
- Moss Landing, USA (California)
- Cape May Point, USA (New Jersey)
- Chobe National Park, Botswana
- Soberanía National Park, The Pipeline, Panama
- Falsterbo Peninsula, Sweden
- Titchwell Marsh, England
