Biscayne National Park

National Park · United States

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Photo © National Park Service

Photo © National Park Service — CC0 1.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Coral reefs and mangrove shallows dominate this marine sanctuary where the Florida Keys meet the Atlantic, creating a mosaic of shallow seagrass meadows, patch reefs, and deeper blue-water channels. The park's monsoonal subtropical climate—warm year-round with concentrated rainfall in summer months—sustains an extraordinary richness of reef-dependent fish, from silvery schooling species that move as one through the shallows to solitary hunters prowling the deeper drop-offs. Rays glide across sand flats while octopuses and other reef invertebrates shelter in the coral matrix. Beyond the reef's edge, pelagic fish move through open water, and crustaceans occupy every crevice. Above the waterline, mangrove forests stabilize shorelines and serve as nurseries for countless marine recruits, their prop roots hosting roosting seabirds and wading birds that probe the tidal zones. Terrestrial birds move through this transition zone seasonally, while the occasional marine mammal passes through deeper channels. The marine ecosystem here exists in constant dialogue with freshwater inputs from the mainland, creating brackish pockets where specialized organisms thrive—a complexity that makes Biscayne one of the most biologically layered protected waters in the continental United States.

Underwater photographers and snorkellers find exceptional conditions on shallow reefs where light penetrates brilliantly, illuminating the geometric architecture of coral colonies and the darting movements of reef fishes in crystalline water. The calm summer months—despite their heat and humidity—offer the flattest seas, though winter brings clearer visibility and milder air temperatures for those working on the surface. Access via tour operators and private boat launches makes the park unusually democratic; divers can descend to deeper reefs while snorkellers explore the shallows, and boaters can navigate the shallow bays where wading birds concentrate in dawn and dusk hours. The park's marine trails and mooring buoys direct foot traffic away from the most sensitive coral, and seasonal closures protect breeding aggregations of reef fish. For naturalists seeking to witness a complete tropical marine food web—from the smallest reef invertebrates to the large predators patrolling the blue water—few places offer such immediate and intelligible access.

Website nps.gov/bisc

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Alopochen aegyptiaca

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Northern Pintail

White-winged Scoter

Melanitta deglandi

Melanitta americana

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Chaetura pelagica

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

Mangrove Cuckoo

White-crowned Pigeon

Patagioenas leucocephala

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Common Ground Dove

Columbina passerina

Zenaida macroura

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Rallus crepitans

Fulica americana

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Podiceps auritus

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Tringa semipalmata

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Calidris alpina

Purple Sandpiper

Calidris maritima

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Onychoprion anaethetus

Hydroprogne caspia

Sterna forsteri

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Thalasseus maximus

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Lesser Black-backed Gull

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Mycteria americana

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Northern Gannet

Red-footed Booby

Sula leucogaster

Anhinga anhinga

Neotropic Cormorant

Nannopterum brasilianum

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

American White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

Roseate Spoonbill

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolor

Egretta rufescens

Butorides virescens

Great Blue Heron

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Pelecanus occidentalis

Coragyps atratus

Pandion haliaetus

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Red-shouldered Hawk

Short-tailed Hawk

Buteo brachyurus

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Falco columbarius

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Mitred Parakeet

Psittacara mitratus

Sayornis phoebe

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Tyrannus dominicensis

Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus crinitus

Yellow-green Vireo

Vireo flavoviridis

Black-whiskered Vireo

Vireo altiloquus

Blue-headed Vireo

Vireo solitarius

Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianus

Cyanocitta cristata

Corvus ossifragus

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

Acridotheres tristis

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Quiscalus quiscula

Boat-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus major

Seiurus aurocapilla

Worm-eating Warbler

Helmitheros vermivorum

Louisiana Waterthrush

Parkesia motacilla

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler

Setophaga tigrina

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

Blackburnian Warbler

Setophaga fusca

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Setophaga caerulescens

Setophaga palmarum

Setophaga coronata

Yellow-throated Warbler

Setophaga dominica

Prairie Warbler

Setophaga discolor

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Branta canadensis

Cairina moschata

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Anas platyrhynchos

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Oxyura jamaicensis

Northern Bobwhite

Colinus virginianus

Antillean Nighthawk

Chordeiles gundlachii

Chuck-will's-widow

Antrostomus carolinensis

Eastern Whip-poor-will

Antrostomus vociferus

Smooth-billed Ani

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio martinica

Aramus guarauna

American Oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Charadrius vociferus

Charadrius melodus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Gallinago delicata

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Calidris canutus

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Onychoprion fuscatus

Sternula antillarum

Chlidonias niger

Great Black-backed Gull

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

White-tailed Tropicbird

Phaethon lepturus

Wilson's Storm Petrel

Oceanites oceanicus

Sargasso Shearwater

Puffinus lherminieri

Sula dactylatra

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Plegadis falcinellus

Rostrhamus sociabilis

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Athene cunicularia

Eastern Screech Owl

Nymphicus hollandicus

Myiopsitta monachus

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet

Brotogeris chiriri

Orange-winged Amazon

Amazona amazonica

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Eastern Wood Pewee

Contopus virens

Alder Flycatcher

Empidonax alnorum

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Vireo olivaceus

Philadelphia Vireo

Vireo philadelphicus

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons

White-eyed Vireo

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Riparia riparia

Tachycineta bicolor

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Petrochelidon fulva

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Bahama Mockingbird

Mimus gundlachii

Toxostoma rufum

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Catharus minimus

Catharus fuscescens

Turdus migratorius

Passer domesticus

Haemorhous mexicanus

American Goldfinch

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Clay-colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Melospiza georgiana

Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Eastern Meadowlark

Sturnella magna

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Icterus spurius

Molothrus bonariensis

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Brown-headed Cowbird

Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysoptera

Blue-winged Warbler

Vermivora cyanoptera

Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citrea

Swainson's Warbler

Limnothlypis swainsonii

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

Connecticut Warbler

Oporornis agilis

Setophaga citrina

Cerulean Warbler

Setophaga cerulea

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

Bay-breasted Warbler

Setophaga castanea

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striata

Setophaga pinus

Black-throated Green Warbler

Setophaga virens

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

Spiza americana

Passerina caerulea

Passerina cyanea

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes cyaneus

Coereba flaveola

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Sterna paradisaea

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudus

Band-rumped Storm Petrel

Hydrobates castro

Cory's Shearwater

Calonectris borealis

Great Shearwater

American Barn Owl

Red-masked Parakeet

Psittacara erythrogenys

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Pycnonotus jocosus

West Indian Manatee

Trichechus manatus

Cotton Deermouse

Peromyscus gossypinus

Northern Raccoon

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops erebennus

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Virginia Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

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