Home 5 Cape Coral Wildlife 5 Birds of Cape Coral

Birds of Cape Coral

Learn more about the many species of birds that can be spotted in Cape Coral and how to identify some of them.

Cape Coral is home to a wide variety of birds thanks to its diverse habitat. Our city is surrounded by salt water, has numerous fresh water ponds and canals and has wetland and upland habitats.

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

White Ibis

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

Anhinga

Anhinga

Cormoran

Cormoran

Mottled Duck

Mottled Duck

Osprey

Osprey

Eagle

Bald Eagle

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Below is a list of  birds that have been seen in recent years. (The list is by no means complete).

This list has been amended from the Florida Ornithological Society bird list. Checked birds have been seen in Cape Coral.

GEESE, DUCKS SANDPIPERS, ALLIES CHICKADEES, TITMICE
 x Black-bellied Whistling-Duck x Spotted Sandpiper Carolina Chickadee
Fulvous Whistling-Duck  x Solitary Sandpiper Tufted Titmouse
Greater White-fronted Goose x Greater Yellowlegs NUTHATCHES
Snow Goose x Willet White-breasted Nuthatch
Canada Goose  x Lesser Yellowlegs Brown-headed Nuthatch
x Muscovy Duck Upland Sandpiper CREEPERS
 x Wood Duck x Whimbrel Brown Creeper
Gadwall Long-billed Curlew WRENS
 X Eurasian Wigeon x Marbled Godwit Carolina Wren
x American Wigeon x Ruddy Turnstone  x House Wren
American Black Duck Red Knot Sedge Wren
x Mallard x Sanderling Marsh Wren
x Mottled Duck  x Semipalmated Plover GNATCATCHERS
x Blue-winged Teal  x Western Sandpiper x Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Cinnamon Teal x Least Sandpiper BULBULS
 x Northern Shoveler  x White-rumped Sandpiper Red-whiskered Bulbul
 x Northern Pintail KINGLETS
x Green-winged Teal Golden-crowned Kinglet
x Canvasback x Dunlin Ruby-crowned Kinglet
 x Redhead x Stilt Sandpiper THRUSHES, ALLIES
x Ring-necked Duck Buff-breasted Sandpiper x Eastern Bluebird
Greater Scaup Ruff Veery
x Lesser Scaup x Short-billed Dowitcher Gray-cheeked Thrush
Surf Scoter x Long-billed Dowitcher Swainson’s Thrush
White-winged Scoter  x Wilson’s Snipe Hermit Thrush
Black Scoter  x American Woodcock Wood Thrush
Long-tailed Duck  x Wilson’s Phalarope x American Robin
Bufflehead Red-necked Phalarope MOCKINGBIRDS, ALLIES
Common Goldeneye GULLS, TERNS, SKIMMER x Gray Catbird
x Hooded Merganser x Bonaparte’s Gull x Northern Mockingbird
x Red-breasted Merganser x Laughing Gull Bahama Mockingbird
x Ruddy Duck Franklin’s Gull x Brown Thrasher
 x Ring-necked Duck x Ring-billed Gull STARLINGS, MYNAS
TURKEY, QUAIL  x Herring Gull x European Starling
 x Wild Turkey  x Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Myna
x Northern Bobwhite Great Black-backed Gull PIPITS
LOONS Brown Noddy American Pipit
Red-throated Loon Black Noddy Sprague’s Pipit
x Common Loon Sooty Tern WAXWINGS
GREBES Bridled Tern x Cedar Waxwing
x Pied-billed Grebe  x Least Tern WARBLERS
 x Horned Grebe Ovenbird
Eared Grebe  x Caspian Tern Worm-eating Warbler
FLAMINGOES Black Tern Louisiana Waterthrush
American Flamingo Roseate Tern  x Northern Waterthrush
SHEARWATERS Common Tern Golden-winged Warbler
Cory’s Shearwater  x Forster’s Tern Blue-winged Warbler
Great Shearwater x Royal Tern x Black-and-white Warbler
Audubon’s Shearwater  x Sandwich Tern Prothonotary Warbler
STORM-PETRELS x Black Skimmer Swainsonʼs Warbler
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel JAEGERS Tennessee Warbler
WOOD STORK Pomarine Jaeger Orange-crowned Warbler
x Wood Stork Parasitic Jaeger
FRIGATEBIRDS RAZORBILL Nashville Warbler
 x Magnificent Frigatebird Razorbill Connecticut Warbler
BOOBIES, GANNETS PIGEONS, DOVES Mourning Warbler
Masked Booby  x Rock Pigeon Kentucky Warbler
Brown Booby White-crowned Pigeon x Common Yellowthroat
x Northern Gannet x Eurasian Collared-Dove Hooded Warbler
CORMORANTS x White-winged Dove American Redstart
x Double-crested Cormorant x Mourning Dove Cape May Warbler
ANHINGA x Common Ground-Dove Cerulean Warbler
x Anhinga PARAKEETS Northern Parula
PELICANS Budgerigar x Magnolia Warbler
x Brown Pelican x Monk Parakeet Bay-breasted Warbler
 x American White Pelican  x Nanday Parakeet Blackburnian Warbler
HERONS, EGRETS  x Yellow-throated Warbler
American Bittern CUCKOOS, ANIS Chestnut-sided Warbler
x Least Bittern  x Yellow-billed Cuckoo Blackpoll Warbler
x Great Blue Heron  x Mangrove Cuckoo Black-throated Blue Warbler
x Great Egret Smooth-billed Ani x Palm Warbler
x Snowy Egret x Pine Warbler
x Little Blue Heron x Yellow-rumped Warbler
 x Tricolored Heron OWLS Prairie Warbler
x Reddish Egret Barn Owl Black-throated Gray Warbler
 x Cattle Egret x Eastern Screech-Owl Black-throated Green Warbler
x Green Heron x Great Horned Owl Canada Warbler
 x Black-crowned Night-Heron x Burrowing Owl Wilsonʼs Warbler
x Yellow-crowned Night-Heron x Barred Owl Yellow-breasted Chat
IBIS, SPOONBILLS SPINDALIS
x White Ibis NIGHTHAWKS, NIGHTJARS Western Spindalis
Scarlet Ibis Lesser Nighthawk SPARROWS
x Glossy Ibis x Common Nighthawk Black-faced Grassquit
x Roseate Spoonbill Chuck-will’s-widow  x Eastern Towhee
VULTURES Eastern Whip-poor-will Bachman’s Sparrow
x Black Vulture Chipping Sparrow
x Turkey Vulture SWIFTS Clay-colored Sparrow
OSPREY  x Chimney Swift Field Sparrow
x Osprey HUMMINGBIRDS Vesper Sparrow
KITES, HAWKS, EAGLES x Ruby-throated Hummingbird Lark Sparrow
 x Swallow-tailed Kite Black-chinned Hummingbird Savannah Sparrow
White-tailed Kite Rufous Hummingbird Grasshopper Sparrow
 x Snail Kite KINGFISHERS Henslow’s Sparrow
Mississippi Kite x Belted Kingfisher Le Conte’s Sparrow
x Bald Eagle WOODPECKERS Nelson’s Sparrow
x Northern Harrier x Red-headed Woodpecker Saltmarsh Sparrow
 x Sharp-shinned Hawk x Red-bellied Woodpecker Seaside Sparrow
x Cooper’s Hawk x Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Fox Sparrow
x Red-shouldered Hawk x Downy Woodpecker Song Sparrow
x Broad-winged Hawk x Hairy Woodpecker Lincoln’s Sparrow
 x Short-tailed Hawk Red-cockaded Woodpecker  x Swamp Sparrow
Swainson’s Hawk x Northern Flicker White-throated Sparrow
 x Red-tailed Hawk x Pileated Woodpecker White-crowned Sparrow
FALCONS House Sparrow
FLYCATCHERS JUNCOS
x American Kestrel Eastern Wood-Pewee Dark-eyed Junco
x Merlin Acadian Flycatcher TANAGERS
 x Peregrine Falcon Alder Flycatcher Summer Tanager
RAILS, GALLINULES, COOT Willow Flycatcher Scarlet Tanager
Black Rail Least Flycatcher Western Tanager
x Clapper Rail x Eastern Phoebe CARDINALS, BUNTINGS
King Rail Vermilion Flycatcher x Northern Cardinal
x Virginia Rail x Great Crested Flycatcher Rose-breasted Grosbeak
x Sora Brown-crested Flycatcher Blue Grosbeak
x Purple Gallinule La Sagra’s Flycatcher Lazuli Bunting
x Common Gallinule Tropical Kingbird x Indigo Bunting
 x American Coot Cassin’s Kingbird Painted Bunting
LIMPKIN Western Kingbird Dickcissel
x Limpkin Eastern Kingbird BLACKBIRDS, ALLIES
CRANES Gray Kingbird Bobolink
x Sandhill Crane Loggerhead Kingbird  x Red-winged Blackbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher x Eastern Meadowlark
PLOVERS Fork-tailed Flycatcher Yellow-headed Blackbird
x Black-bellied Plover SHRIKE Rusty Blackbird
American Golden-Plover x Loggerhead Shrike x Common Grackle
 x Snowy Plover VIREOS x Boat-tailed Grackle
x Wilson’s Plover White-eyed Vireo Shiny Cowbird
 x Semipalmated Plover Bell’s Vireo Bronzed Cowbird
 x Piping Plover Yellow-throated Vireo Brown-headed Cowbird
x Killdeer Blue-headed Vireo Orchard Oriole
OYSTERCATCHER Philadelphia Vireo Spot-breasted Oriole
x American Oystercatcher Red-eyed Vireo x Baltimore Oriole
STILTS, AVOCETS Black-whiskered Vireo FINCHES, ALLIES
 x Black-necked Stilt JAYS, CROWS Purple Finch
 x American Avocet  x Blue Jay x House Finch
x Florida Scrub-Jay Pine Siskin
x American Crow  x American Goldfinch
x Fish Crow Evening Grosbeak
MARTINS, SWALLOWS OLD-WORLD SPARROWS
x Purple Martin House Sparrow
x Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Unusual Sightings
x  Yellow-billed Cuckoo
 x  Eurasian Wigeon
 x  Swan Goose

Browse more Cape Coral Wildlife

burrowing owl blurb

Burrowing Owl

Cape Coral, Florida: Home to Florida's largest population of Burrowing Owls, charming and tiny, these owls reside in underground burrows.

gopher tortoise blurb

Gopher Tortoise

The Gopher Tortoise is a native, keystone species that is listed as threatened due to severe habitat loss. 

bald eagle blurb

Bald Eagle

The American Bald Eagle is protected by both federal and local laws. Their nests are typically found in old growth pine tree stands.

scrub jay blurb

Florida Scrub Jay

The Scrub Jay is endemic to Florida, meaning it is not found anywhere else in the wild. It is another species under grave threat due to severe habitat loss.

purple martin blurb

Purple Martin

The Purple Martin is a migratory bird species that stops in Southwest Florida each year. CCFW volunteers have provided important habitat and monitoring.

butterfly blurb

Cape Coral Butterflies

Florida was named for its plethora of flowers. The pollinators they support, such as butterflies and skippers, are just as numerous and eye-catching!

cats blurb

Cats

Domestic and feral cats are not wildlife, but outdoor cats can have a terrible impact, often hunting and killing other species we care about.

manatee blurb

Manatee

The lovable, docile manatee can be spotted relatively easily in the warm waters around Southwest Florida and Cape Coral.

alligator blurb

Alligators

Alligators can be dangerous and should be treated with respect, but there have been no fatal encounters in Cape Coral's history.

anole blurb

Brown/Green Anole

What the heck are all these lizards running around? Learn to identify the most common anoles and geckos.

coyote blurb

Coyotes

As in many parts of the country, coyotes are extending their range into urban areas as they are driven out of their native habitats.

bees blurb

Bees

Bees and their pollination work are widely viewed as one the most critical building blocks in every ecosystem.