Florida beach walker; image by Tom Adkinson.

GRAYTON BEACH, Florida – This is the time of year when snowbirds, the ones with feathers and the ones fearing sunburn, begin congregating in Florida. This pair of snowbirds is enjoying the surf, sand and sunshine in the Florida panhandle between Destin and Panama City. Both are hoping that fish is on the menu.

Florida beach caster; image by Tom Adkinson.

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion organization, reports that the Sunshine State gets about 125 million visitors every year. However, it does not track part-time seasonal residents who stay for months on end, so it’s not possible to tell how many human snowbirds there are every winter. What is known is that they stay throughout the state, from the panhandle to Key West and down both coasts. Of the 125 million annual visitors, approximately 15 million are from other countries. The largest sources are Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Argentina, according to Visit Florida.

Trip-planning resource: VisitFlorida.com

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s new book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available at CornersOfTheCountry.com.)