NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Every winter there's a huge migration as snowbirds flock south to their winter homes in the warm climes of Florida, Arizona, and the rest of the Sunbelt.

Who can blame them? They avoid dreary gray days, biting winds, filthy slush, and grouchy friends and neighbors for green gardens, sandy beaches, and blue seas caressed by balmy winds.

Florida is the number one snowbird spot, drawing from the populous Northeast, as well as Canada. New Yorkers constitute, by far, the biggest group of Florida's snowbirds, according to a University of Florida report, with more than 13 percent of the total. Michigan came in a distant second at 7.4 percent, followed by Ohio (6.7 percent) and Pennsylvania (5.8 percent).

Snowbirds make up roughly 30 percent to 40 percent of the 2 million Canadian visitors to Florida annually. Roughly three/quarters of these winter residents own second homes in the state. And Brits, lured by a weak dollar, are increasingly making Florida their winter quarters

Other popular destinations for over-wintering northerners include the coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina, and the desert areas of the Southwest.