Bird watching in Florida Keys

BY JESSICA GRESKO. ASSOCIATED PRESS

DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK, Fla. --

Many visitors to the Florida Keys snap a picture with the marker in Key West that designates the southernmost point in the United States.

Or they buy trinkets bearing images of another famous local landmark -- the Mile 0 road sign, marking the end of the Overseas Highway (U.S. 1), which begins more than 100 miles to the north.

But the Keys actually don't end in Key West. Seventy miles farther west lies a national park, the Dry Tortugas, situated on a string of islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The park offers sparkling ocean views, bird-watching and a Civil War prison, Ft. Jefferson. And although it's easily reached by plane or ferry for a day trip or overnight camping, it is one of the least-visited of all national parks, with just over 61,000 visitors a year.

The islands are renowned for the migrating birds that stop over. In fact, the area's wildlife was one of the first things that struck Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, who discovered the string of sandy coral islands in 1513.

...there's some history right there...

Few make trip to last Florida Key

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