Fort Lauderdale Tropical Bird & Plant Habitats

Flamingo Gardens

• The Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida offers an array of attractions, from the tropical plant house which features orchids and calatheas to the butterfly and hummingbird gardens and free-flight aviary. Their Flamingo Café overlooks the flamingo pound, which houses Caribbean flamingos and showcases tropical plants. In addition, Flamingo Gardens offers natural habitats for wildlife like the river otter, panther and bobcat and an alligator lagoon exhibit to educate the public about these Florida natives.

Butterfly World

• While devoted mainly to butterflies, Butterfly World also features both tropical and subtropical plants and bird habitats. The Hanging Garden, Tropical Rainforest Aviary and Grace Garden features an array of tropical plants numbering in the thousands, as well as free flying birds, tropical fish and wild butterflies. Its Wings of the World Secret Garden is a garden trellis maze featuring the world's largest collection of flowering passion vines, as well as the Jamaican streamertail hummingbird and African sun bird, which can't be seen anywhere else, except in their native countries. You can even hand feed lorikeets and get your picture taken with these colorful tropical birds.

Everglades Day Safari

• The Everglades Day Safari tour picks up passengers at a number of Fort Lauderdale hotels and takes them on a day-long tour through the everglades. While you must be staying at one of the hotels on their pickup list in order to be picked up there, they also have general pickup areas at the Flamingo Gardens and the Gallery One Doubletree Hotel. Each tour is guided by a trained naturalist who can answer questions and guide you through the sights, speaking on both the natural and cultural significance and history of the everglades and its ecosystems and habitats.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

• The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens features a vast collection of rare tropical plans that includes cycads, flowering trees and vines, palms and tropical fruit trees. They feature two acres of rain forest, a tropical fruit pavilion, plant shows, the International Orchid Festival in March and the International Mango Festival in July. Its orchid festival offers over 10,000 orchids, as well as workshops, walking tours, educational kids' exhibits, storytelling showcases and even botanic yoga and meditation classes for both kids and adults.