Located on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is truly a unique place that has now firmly established itself as a Central Florida attraction. The Sanctuary is conveniently located near other major attractions in the Tampa Bay area, and has become a vacation destination for tourists from all over the world. The 1.5-acre beach-front Sanctuary has several ame
nities, and is staffed by experienced professionals and dedicated volunteers who share the same committed goal of rescuing and rehabilitating sick, injured, and orphaned birds.
Also located on the Sanctuary grounds is the DR. Marie L. Farr Avian Hospital. The Hospital is probably the most important facility located at the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. Here, a team of dedicated and experienced staff and volunteer members diagnose and treat the thousands of sick, injured, and orphaned birds that are admitted to the Sanctuary hospital each year. Approximately 90% of these injuries are directly or indirectly attributable to humans. Like a human hospital, the Sanctuary’s Avian Hospital is equipped with emergency facilities, a surgical center, injury recovery areas, and an outdoor wild bird recuperation and rehabilitation area.
Although the goal is always to release the birds after they have recuperated from an illness or injury, those who have sustained injuries that prevent them from surviving in the wild are kept permanently at the Sanctuary or given to another reputable facility. The Sanctuary currently houses over 100 permanently disabled birds. Some of the permanent residents include Eastern Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, Gulls, Oyster Catchers, American White Pelicans,Hawks, Vultures, Woodstorks, Sandhill Cranes, Great Blue Herons, Owls, and much more. Visitors to the Sanctuary can walk around the grounds and view all the permanently disabled birds on display. In addition to the Sanctuary’s display birds, the grounds are home to a countless number of wild birds who freely roam around the area.
The Sanctuary is nested in the trees. Due to this, the Sanctuary is perfectly suited for bird watchers and wildlife photographers who casually stroll the Sanctuary grounds to enjoy the tremendous photo opportunities it provides. Several independent photography classes and clubs have held field trips at the Sanctuary to take advantage of all the photo opportunities. Visitors to the Sanctuary can also watch the staff hand-feed the Pelicans and Cormorants every day at 2:30 pm. The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is open to the public seven days a week from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. Admission to the Sanctuary is free. It is the mission of the Sanctuary to educate the public about the plight of our wild birds as well as care for them. Due to this, we want everyone to have a chance to visit, enjoy, and learn. The Sanctuary is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
Private donations are the Sanctuary’s only means of support and for a small donation you can become a Member of the Sanctuary or join our Adopt-A-Bird program. With the continued support of people like you, the Sanctuary will be able to continue its life-saving mission for years to come! They are currently working on plans for a grand opening of the new and improved facility sometime in late March. We will let you know as soon as the date is set and we hope you will be able to join us to celebrate our new organization.
Seaside Seabird Sanctuary has made many new improvements like outdoor enclosure netting, repairs to our fence and general clean-up. We welcome you to come visit us to see for yourself! It is located at 18328 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores, FL 33785.
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