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A sandhill crane at sunset. Photo: Don Miller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

THE SEASON · FLORIDA'S COOL MONTHS

Cranes, Claws and Whale Calves: Florida's Cool Season

Hurricane season ends, the air dries out, and the cranes, eagles, right whales and stone crab claws come back. Here is what Florida's cool season brings every year, and where to go to see it.

A sandhill crane at sunset. Photo: Don Miller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

ARTICLE

Hurricane season ends, the air dries out, and the cranes, eagles, right whales and stone crab claws come back. Here is what Florida's cool season brings every year, and where to go to see it.

By 1stFlorida Editorial Team · Published November 11, 2026 · Verified November 2, 2026

Florida's weather runs on two main seasons, wet and dry, and November sits right at the turn. The rains ease, the air dries out, and some of the state's best-known visitors come back: cranes from the Great Lakes, whales from the North Atlantic and the first strawberries of winter. Here is what returns to Florida every year in the cool months, and where to go to see it.

The rains ease and hurricane season ends

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, according to the National Hurricane Center ↗. So the last day of November closes the season on the calendar.

The rainy season ends sooner. The National Weather Service office for the Tampa Bay area ↗ puts the rainy season at May 25 to October 10 for West Central Florida and May 15 to October 15 for Southwest Florida. Its Melbourne office ↗ says the dry season typically begins around the middle of October in Daytona Beach and Orlando, a few days later in Melbourne and about a week later in Stuart.

What flips the switch is a cold front. When one passes through, it brings drier air, and rain comes less often. The first fronts of fall are often short-lived, so the humid air may return for a few days before the next one arrives. In South Florida, the Weather Service in Miami ↗ folds fall and spring into one long "winter season," because those in-between months are, in its words, "drier and cooler than the summer season." Expect cooler temperatures, lower humidity and less frequent rain.

Stone crab claws are back

Florida's stone crab season opens in mid-October and runs into spring. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ↗ sets the season and the rules, and its stone crab page lists the current dates.

The stone crab is harvested in an unusual way: only the claws may be taken. A claw must measure at least 2 7/8 inches, and claws may not be taken from a female carrying eggs. Like other crustaceans, a stone crab can grow back a lost claw, though FWC notes that regrowing one takes a lot of energy in the form of food. FWC also asks anyone harvesting to remove claws with care, so the crab is not permanently injured.

Want to try your own luck? Anyone 16 or older who sets stone crab traps needs FWC's free recreational trap registration, renewed each year, and traps may be pulled by hand only in daylight. Read FWC's recreational rules ↗ before you set one.

Sandhill cranes fill the prairies

Two kinds of sandhill crane live in Florida. The Florida sandhill crane stays all year and nests here. The greater sandhill crane, the larger of the two, nests in the Great Lakes region and spends the winter in Florida. According to FWC ↗, big flocks of these northern cranes arrive in November and December, more than doubling the number of cranes in the state, and leave again in March and April.

They are easy to spot. Sandhill cranes stand almost 4 feet tall, with long legs, long necks, gray feathers and a patch of bare red skin on top of the head. In flight they stretch their necks out straight like geese, while herons tuck theirs back. You will often hear them before you see them: a loud bugling or rattling call from a flock passing overhead.

One of the best places to watch them is Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park ↗, just south of Gainesville in Alachua County. The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail ↗ says large numbers of migratory sandhill cranes winter there from November to March, and that whooping cranes may be present in winter too. The La Chua Trail runs about a mile round trip to Alachua Sink, with a platform at the end that looks out over the prairie marsh. The prairie is also home to roaming bison and wild horses, a sight the state park says you will find nowhere else in Florida. Trails can close when the water is high, so call the ranger station at (352) 466-3397 before you go.

Enjoy the cranes from a distance. FWC made it illegal to feed sandhill cranes on purpose in 2002, and it asks everyone not to feed them for the cranes' own good.

Bald eagles start building

Florida has one of the densest concentrations of nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states, according to FWC ↗, and the cool months are when they get to work.

They start building a nest, or gathering sticks for one, in late September or early October. FWC's bald eagle biology page ↗ says most eggs in Florida are laid between December and early January, and for its management plan, FWC defines the nesting season as October 1 through May 15. Many pairs build more than one nest in their territory, sometimes as many as five.

Manatees head for warm water

When the water drops below about 68 degrees, manatees go looking for warmth. FWC says they head for springs and for the warm-water basins at power plants. The agency's where to see manatees ↗ list names winter spots across the state, including Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, Lee County Manatee Park in Fort Myers and Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs.

If you boat, watch for slow-speed signs. FWC explains the rules on its manatee protection zones ↗ page. To report a manatee in trouble, call FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922), or #FWC from a cell phone.

Right whales come south to have their calves

Every year from November 15 to April 15, pregnant North Atlantic right whales swim south from their northern feeding grounds to have their calves. The FWC ↗ says the coastal waters off Florida and Georgia are the only known calving area for the species.

These are big animals. An adult can measure up to 55 feet and weigh 50 tons, and a newborn calf is about 15 feet long and 2,000 pounds. Right whales have no fin on their backs, just a broad, flat back that is dark gray or black. Rough patches on the head, called callosities, look white because tiny creatures called whale lice live on them. When a right whale breathes, it sends up a V-shaped spout that can reach 15 feet.

The name comes from the old whaling days. Whalers called them the "right" whales to hunt, FWC explains ↗, because they swam slowly near the coast and floated after they died.

Today the law protects them. Boaters must keep at least 500 yards from a right whale, according to FWC's guidelines for boaters ↗. If you see one, report it ↗ to 877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343) or to the U.S. Coast Guard on marine VHF channel 16.

Winter fruit: strawberries and citrus

While much of the country waits for spring, Florida picks strawberries. The Florida Strawberry Growers Association ↗ says fresh Florida berries are available from November through April, and that Florida grows nearly all of the nation's winter strawberries. The center of it all is the Plant City and Dover area of Hillsborough County. The City of Plant City ↗ calls itself the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, and a strawberry festival is held there each winter.

Citrus season is underway too. The Florida Department of Citrus lists these seasons on VISIT FLORIDA ↗:

  • Navel oranges: October through January
  • Fallglo and Sunburst tangerines: October through December
  • Ruby Red grapefruit: October through April
  • Minneola tangelos, sometimes called Honeybells: January and February
  • Valencia oranges: February through June

Spring training closes out the cool season

As the cranes get ready to fly north, baseball comes south. Every February and March, Major League teams play spring training games in Florida's Grapefruit League ↗. The ballparks are spread around the state, from Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa and Lakeland to Bradenton, Sarasota, North Port, Port Charlotte and Fort Myers, and over to Port St. Lucie, Jupiter and West Palm Beach on the Atlantic side. Each year's schedules are posted on the team pages of the Grapefruit League site.

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Sources

These sources were read online on November 2, 2026.

Top photo: Solo Sandhill Crane ↗ by Don Miller, licensed CC BY 2.0 ↗, from Wikimedia Commons.

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