St. Pete Tattoo Artist Takes on Every Bird in Florida

Florida has no shortage of wildlife worth putting on skin. Alligators, panthers, flamingos and the occasional meth-fueled raccoon practically design themselves.

But St. Petersburg tattoo artist Harley Babst, better known as Grouchy Goblin Ink, has set her sights a little higher.

Her goal? Tattoo every bird species found in Florida.

Yes. Every one.

Babst launched her Florida bird tattoo project in April 2026, creating what she hopes will eventually become a tattooed field guide to the state's birds. The project quickly took flight, generating more than 45 requests within its first few weeks.

And she has plenty of work ahead of her.

More Than 300 Birds and a Whole Lot of Ink

Florida is one of the most diverse birding destinations in the country. More than 500 species have been documented in the state when migratory, wintering and year-round birds are included. Babst's project focuses on the 300-plus species regularly encountered in Florida.

She's keeping track of them, too.

Babst maintains a spreadsheet documenting each species and the tattoos completed along the way. Early subjects have ranged from unmistakably Florida birds to species most people probably couldn't identify without a field guide.

That's part of what makes the project interesting.

This isn't simply a flash sheet filled with generic swallows and eagles. Each tattoo needs to represent an identifiable species while still looking unmistakably like Babst's work.

American Traditional Meets Florida Wildlife

Babst works primarily in American traditional, a style particularly well suited to birds: strong black outlines, saturated color and bold shapes designed to remain readable on skin.

The challenge comes when you're trying to make hundreds of different species distinct.

A Roseate Spoonbill needs to look like a Roseate Spoonbill. A Florida Scrub-Jay can't simply become "blue bird tattoo number seven."

Babst told Audubon that one of the challenges is finding the balance between stylizing each bird and remaining faithful enough to the real animal that the species is immediately recognizable.

Her inspiration isn't limited to photographs pulled from the internet, either.

After moving from Alabama to St. Petersburg, Babst became increasingly interested in Florida's wildlife and the radically different habitats packed into the state. She and her partner regularly explore Gulf Coast parks and preserves, giving her opportunities to photograph and observe many of the birds that eventually become tattoo references.

Local favorites include Crescent Lake, where American White Pelicans and Wood Storks can be found, and Oscar Scherer State Park, home to the Florida Scrub-Jay.

Every Bird Comes With a Story

There's another cool wrinkle to the project.

The people collecting these tattoos aren't necessarily choosing birds because they simply look good.

One client chose a Chuck-will's-widow after growing up listening to its distinctive call in the evenings. Another chose a Limpkin because a family of them regularly visits their pond.

That turns the project into something bigger than checking species off a list.

Each bird becomes a collaboration between the artist, the person wearing it and the place they both call home.

By the time Babst finishes, the project could become a pretty unusual record of Florida itself, told through hundreds of individual tattoos and the stories behind them.

Tattoos Helping Florida Birds

Babst has also tied the project directly to bird conservation.

Clients who donate at least $10 to one of several participating Florida bird and wildlife organizations can receive $50 off their bird tattoo. Organizations highlighted through the project include Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, Owl's Nest Sanctuary, Friends of the Pelicans and St. Pete Audubon.

It's a smart connection between the subject of the artwork and the animals inspiring it.

Get a Florida bird tattoo. Help an actual Florida bird.

Hard to argue with that.

From Skin to Field Guide

The long-term goal may be the coolest part.

Babst hopes to eventually turn the completed project into an actual Florida bird guide featuring photographs of the tattoos created along the way.

That means this could be a project measured in years rather than months.

Hundreds of species. Hundreds of clients. Hundreds of individual stories.

And somewhere out there is a Florida birder who may finally have found a perfectly reasonable excuse for getting a Bananaquit tattoo.

For a Tampa Bay tattoo scene already loaded with talented artists doing interesting work, Harley Babst's Florida bird project is exactly the kind of wonderfully specific idea we love seeing take flight.

We'll be watching to see which bird gets crossed off the list next.