Planning for the trail began in 1999. Mark Kiser of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the trail Coordinator. He says it’s modeled after the Texas Coastal Birding Trail. He says Corkscrew is great place to celebrate the trail’s completion.



“the wood stork in an endangered species and corkscrew is famous for having the largest breeding colony of woodstorks in north America and its considered the crown jewel of Audubon sanctuary network – it’s a fabulous place for bird watching and just strolling along their bird walk.”

There are 446 stops along the Great Florida Birding Trail. 480 bird species are found in Florida. And birding is big business in the Sunshine State – supporting about 19 thousand jobs and generating nearly half a billion dollars a year in retail sales related to bird-watching. Events surrounding the ribbon cutting begin at 8:30 in the morning.