Birding spots · Florida

Best Birding Spots in Lee County, Florida

Sanibel Bayou leads Lee County's birding spots with 201 species reported, best in spring. 136 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Sanibel Bayou	201	4,189	144	153	84	112
Rotary Park Environmental Center	190	3,026	101	165	87	149
Lighthouse Beach Park	190	2,713	82	170	52	108
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge	188	3,251	127	155	60	122
Harn's Marsh	185	3,631	153	145	89	133
Lakes Regional Park	185	3,027	137	138	83	131
San Carlos Bay - Bunche Beach Preserve	178	4,331	137	132	104	121
Estero Bay Preserve State Park	174	777	148	117	30	114
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve	168	6,250	123	145	85	127
Pond Apple Park	158	1,118	92	138	28	64
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (west)	158	913	138	106	48	105
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve North	157	333	113	93	68	105
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)	144	1,215	105	108	55	68
Lovers Key State Park	139	1,428	104	103	74	97
Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park	135	361	107	73	28	90
Bodwitch Point	129	695	89	99	60	78
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (west 2)	129	487	112	85	57	84
Old Blind Pass	126	763	81	104	49	69
Hickory Swamp Preserve	125	209	45	41	47	109
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (west 4)	122	202	110	75	19	66
Wild Turkey Strand Preserve	119	344	91	61	47	93
Powell Creek Preserve	118	613	99	97	57	72
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Bayou)	116	920	91	87	42	53
Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve	116	457	60	64	41	90
West Marsh Preserve	115	380	91	83	42	61
Hidden Cypress Preserve	115	354	92	90	55	71
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.closing Order Boundary (northeast)	112	532	79	78	34	62
Billy Creek Preserve	105	256	72	75	48	66
Carlos Point	104	567	68	82	72	57
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.closing Order Boundary	103	828	72	64	38	60
Pine Lake Preserve	102	289	75	74	48	73
Gulfside Beach Park	101	445	71	51	30	60
Imperial Marsh Preserve	100	178	64	42	38	75
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Hardworking Bayou)	99	459	72	75	34	57
Gasparilla Island State Park	98	350	69	70	26	41
Pineland	97	219	64	78	22	48
Carlos Point (Big Carlos Pass)	96	181	80	52	59	66
Captiva Island	93	198	57	68	42	50
Cayo Costa State Park	90	184	52	69	36	37
Telegraph Estates	90	96	67	55	30	60
Gator Hole Preserve	89	133	71	59	22	43
Pop Ash Creek Preserve	89	130	73	58	26	54
J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Island)	87	257	70	65	26	35
Koreshan State Historic Site	86	233	47	55	23	56
Sanibel Causeway	84	525	62	45	36	44
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (west 3)	84	242	70	58	28	47
Prairie Pines Preserve	83	205	64	58	30	42
Hickey Creek Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area	83	204	55	64	33	36
Estero Island Beach Access North (Tdc) #37	81	236	66	50	28	37
Alva Scrub Preserve	81	105	60	61	9	38