Wildlife of Orlando, Florida
Central Florida's lakes, cypress swamps and pine flatwoods around Orlando support one of the country's densest populations of sandhill cranes, plus alligators, limpkins and swallow-tailed kites in summer. The nearby Merritt Island refuge holds thousands of wintering ducks and one of the easiest bald eagle nest densities in the southeast.
Best timeDecember – March for waterfowl and cranes, May – August for kites and breeding wading birds.
- 1Central Florida sinkhole lakes hold endemic apple snails that limpkins feed on.
- 2Sandhill cranes nest on suburban lawns here — locals call them 'traffic birds'.
- 3The scrub jay is the only bird species endemic to Florida.
Signature species
Curated for Orlando, Florida, each tagged with its IUCN Red List status.
- VU
Florida scrub jay
Aphelocoma coerulescens
- LC
Sandhill crane
Antigone canadensis
- LC
Snail kite
Rostrhamus sociabilis
- VU
Gopher tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus
- LC
Limpkin
Aramus guarauna
IUCN codes — EX extinct · EW extinct in wild · CR critically endangered · EN endangered · VU vulnerable · NT near threatened · LC least concern · DD data deficient
Dos & don'ts
Local etiquette that keeps wildlife wild.
Do
- Give gopher-tortoise burrows a 25-ft buffer — they're protected.
- Support scrub habitat — it's Florida's rarest.
- Keep distance — use zoom or binoculars, never bait animals closer.
- Stay on marked trails to avoid trampling nests, burrows and plants.
Don't
- Don't feed sandhill cranes — it causes fatal car collisions.
- Don't take shells from Canaveral seashore beaches.
- Never feed wildlife — human food changes behaviour and shortens lives.
- Don't share exact locations of nests, dens or rare species online.
Spotted here lately
Live from iNaturalist — research-grade observations within 50km, last 30 days.
Loading citizen-science data…