Gulls live on the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Ocean during the winter.
During the winter months, Florida's shorelines on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean experience a population increase of sea bird species. Some of these species include gulls, shearwaters, gannets and sandpipers. The winter is the breeding season for most of these birds and Florida's climate provides the necessary warmth. Also, sea birds' diets consist mainly of marine-dwelling wildlife such as fish, invertebrates and crustaceans.
Procellariidae
The Procellariidae family of birds is more commonly known as petrel and shearwater birds. Five species of this bird are native to Florida: Audubon's shearwater, sooty shearwater, Cory's shearwater, black-capped petrel and great shearwater. These birds frequent the Florida shorelines during the winter months. Shearwaters and petrels are medium-sized birds, ranging from 1 to 2 feet in length as adults. Physical characteristics of Procellariidae birds are their tube-shaped beaks. Some Procellariidae birds which rarely occur in Florida are northern fulmar, Manx shearwater and short-tailed shearwater.
Sulidae
Booby and gannet birds are seabirds in the Sulidae family. These birds live near the shorelines of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico in Florida. The only four Sulidae birds in Florida are the masked booby, northern gannet, brown booby and red-footed booby. Each of these birds are medium-sized species and adult birds range from 2.5 to 4 feet in length. Sulidae birds are known for diving into the water to catch their prey, which include fish, snakes and amphibians. Florida is as far south Sulidae birds live. During the summer they live on North Atlantic shores, such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
Scolopacidae
The Scolopacidae family includes the sandpiper, godwit, phalarope and dowitcher species of birds. The primary species in this family are sandpipers. Some of Florida's native sandpiper birds are the least, spotted, Baird's, stilt, purple and solitary sandpipers. These birds receive their name from their foraging habits such as hunting for invertebrates by poking their beaks into the sand. All Scolopacidae birds have long, thin beaks for hunting in the sand and this bird family inhabits Florida during the winter breeding season. Other Scolopacidae birds are the American woodcock, Wilson's snipe, long-billed curlew, marbled godwit and red-necked phalarope.
Laridae
The coastal regions of Florida are home to gulls and terns, two bird species in the Laridae family. Some gull species in Florida are Iceland, slaty-backed, Sabine's, Belcher's, California and herring gulls, while the roseate, Caspian, Arctic, Forster's and black terns represent the tern contingency in the Sunshine State. Florida's non-gull and tern species in the Laridae family are the brown and black noddies, black skimmer and black-legged kittiwake. Most Laridae birds have webbed feet, stout beaks and white feathers with black or gray markings on their wings and heads. Winter is the primary season for Laridae birds in Florida.
Tags: Atlantic Ocean, birds Florida, during winter, Sulidae birds, These birds, bird species