Visitor center · Overseas Highway
A look at the work behind wild-bird rescue in the Keys
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Overseas Highway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Overseas Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Overseas Highway audio tourRecorded for this area
Blond Giraffe: Pie on a Stick“Up ahead is Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory in Tavernier, a dessert stop with a useful place to sit outside. My pick is the Pie on a Stick: a frozen slice of key lime pie dipped in semisweet chocolate.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from Mission Wild Bird Education Center in the Parkwolf Overseas Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Mission Wild Bird Education Center is the public education center and gift shop in the same Tavernier building as Mission Wild Bird Hospital. Stop if you’re curious about how injured wild birds are rehabilitated; it’s a focused indoor visit, not a wildlife-viewing attraction. Access is limited to the center’s posted visiting schedule, so check ahead before making a dedicated stop.
Visitors are limited to the front education center and gift shop. The hospital and offices are staff-only, and even a scheduled hospital tour doesn’t include viewing birds under care. If you want to watch birds at an outdoor sanctuary, Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary is a separate stop farther south.
The hospital and education-center building was built in early 2014, with separate areas for the hospital, offices, gift shop and visitor center. The organization behind it was incorporated in 1988 and officially opened in 1991, after founder Laura Quinn and veterinarian Robert Foley began caring for injured birds in the Keys. Keeping treatment areas out of public view reduces stress for recovering birds and helps them stay wild.
Wildlife
18 sightingsCrocodileMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
255 sightingsAlligatorMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
55 sightingsManateeMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
70 sightingsCommon Bottlenose DolphinMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
51 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
1,120 sightingsKey DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Overseas Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyPlantation Tropical Preserve Nature Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 1.3 mi awayA tiny walk through a rare patch of Florida Keys hammock.
EasyPlantation Hammock Preserve Loop0.5 mi · 24 min · 4.7 mi awayA shaded hammock loop reaches a bench overlooking Florida Bay.
Food · 0.1 mi awayBlond Giraffe Key Lime Pie FactoryKey lime pie on a stick and a garden break in Tavernier.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayPlantation Tropical PreserveA small hammock preserve with a paddle launch and memorial garden.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayLaura Quinn Wild Bird SanctuaryA short boardwalk stop for rescued birds and bay sunsets.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayHarry Harris ParkA protected swim area, picnic shade and boat launch in one stop.
Sight · 4.7 mi awayFounders ParkA shallow bay beach sits beside courts, fields, and a full-size pool.Parkwolf’s Overseas Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
