A large percentage of the songbird species that breed in eastern North America fly through Florida to reach their tropical winter habitats. Traveling hundreds to thousands of miles, these migrating birds need to stop at natural sites like Cape Florida to rest and “refuel,” especially before they cross water. They also need to find a land refuge when bad weather occurs.
Over 29,000 birds of 112 different species have captured and banded. The majority of these species are typical small migratory songbirds – warblers, vireos, thrushes, buntings and flycatchers. Occasionally we have caught other types of birds – hawks, an owl and a heron species. Some routinely captured species are resident birds that live in the park year-round – northern cardinals, common ground-doves, blue jays and common grackles. Some are vagrant birds from nearby Caribbean islands.
Fourteen different species of songbird have been recaptured one to eight years after they were banded at Cape Florida
