Discover Florida!

Limpkin Chicks at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

One of the things I like about traveling is being adventurous and open to exploring new places. When I'm in another city or state or country, I seek out interesting restaurants, museums and parks. I get on those hop on/ hop off double decker bus tours and wander international museums with my English language audio guide. I scope out nature refuges and botanical gardens on Google maps. I want to make the most of my short stay. But when I'm at home, I'm not nearly as creative and resourceful, and I'm a terrible procrastinator. I get into a routine and stick close to home. You know how it goes--you can live in a city for years and never explore the famous local attraction just around the corner, unless an out of town visitor comes and you want to show them all the best things. So it was when my family and I were in Florida. We lived there for nearly 20 years, and yet in all that time, I never made the trip to the greater Orlando area to visit the numerous nature parks down there. I always meant to, but just never got around to it. Sure, we figured out how to go to the theme parks with our kids and out of town visitors, and drove to the airport all the time, but it always seemed too difficult to drive all the way down there to watch birds and hike for a day. But last month I finally remedied that. My husband had a week-long meeting in Orlando, so as soon as I learned that we were going, I got busy and plotted out my exploring route. I was finally going to see Merritt Island, Disney Wilderness and Circle B Bar Preserve! I guess what it took for me to really start to explore Florida was to come as a visitor.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

We started our trip with a short stay in Gainesville, where I crammed in quick visits to the parks that were so familiar when we lived there. And they are spectacular parks. This is part of the reason why I can almost forgive myself for putting off exploring more in central Florida. Gainesville has a lot going on. Now that I live firmly inland and in the Piedmont (I love saying that) the coastal areas, swamps and sandhills of Florida are very exotic and exciting. And there is an incredible amount of wildlife. I'm not sure if Floridians realize how extraordinary this is. When you live there, you can get used to seeing eagles, cranes and osprey flying overhead. A Great Egret standing in a retention pond is no big deal. Alligators, schmalligators. Ho hum. But not for me. I'm a tourist now! It had been a year since my last visit and I was pretty jazzed at all the critters around me.

Florida's unbelievable nature on display at Circle B Bar Reserve

In Gainesville, I made sure to visit the spectacular Sweetwater Wetlands Park with my photo buddy, Maralee, and got my Limpkin, Common Gallinule, and Osprey fix out of the way. Most of the birds were raising young and I saw numerous Limpkin chicks learning to eat exotic apple snails. This is a cool story. When I was first learning about birds in Gainesville, about 12 years ago, Limpkins were rare in this part of the state. Their food source, the Florida Apple Snail, was disappearing, displaced by the larger, exotic Island Apple Snail. But 5-6 years ago more Limpkins were appearing in the region and people realized that the Limpkins were learning to eat the bigger, tougher snails. After they figured out how to pry them open, it was all over. Limpkins everywhere. And soon they told the endangered Snail Kites and now a few of them have been hanging out in Gainesville for the past 2 years. Perhaps they will also adapt and thrive. One can hope. Anyway, I watched dozens of juvenile Limpkins fussing for adults to feed them huge, gloppy snails. Maralee and I also made a short visit to catch up with our friend, the Ditch. It was lovely, as always, buzzing and fluttering and alive with Sundews, Butterwort and Ladies Tresses Orchids. It was exciting to have to watch out for Cottonmouths again (we didn't see any) as we scrambled through the tall, wet grass. We don't have them up here in North Georgia.

Anhinga drying her wings at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Glossy Ibis at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

 

Limpkin adult feeding an apple snail to a chick at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Bobolink at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Red-winged Blackbird at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Common Gallinule and Chick at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Osprey with Chick at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Ladies Tresses Orchids in the Ditch

Little Metalmark Butterfly in the Ditch

I couldn't leave Gainesville without stopping at Morningside Nature Center. I only had a little while there, but I did see the beautiful Cypress Dome, still full of water after last season's storms, and the incredible Long Leaf Pine Sandhill. 

Cypress Dome from the Boardwalk at Morningside Nature Center

Sandhill at Morningside Nature Center

Pinewoods Milkweed (Asclepias humistrata) at Morningside Nature Center

On our last day in town, my husband and I made it over to La Chua trail at Paynes Prairie State Preserve, to visit with my former fellow Sunday trail volunteer, Helene. Most of the trail is closed currently as a result of flooding from last year's hurricanes. Thank goodness for the terrific raised board walk that allows visitors to see at least a little of the basin when the wet prairie is flooded. Looking over the railing of the boardwalk, I had the perfect vantage to see the smaller things in the water and mud, such as snakes. The water snakes were very active and I saw 5 or six, in addition to a lovely Ribbon Snake.

Ribbon Snake at La Chua Trail

And then we were off to Orlando for more adventure. Our hotel was right next to the Disney resorts and was a beautiful, tropical vacation zone. On the days when I was not away on adventures, I enjoyed walking around the lake and nature trails at the hotel. I saw quite a bit of wildlife there, golf course and tennis courts notwithstanding. I could have just stayed there and had a fine time, but I had other plans.

Bird of Paradise Flower at the Hotel

Great Egret at the Hotel Lake

Anhinga (aka "Water Turkey") at the Hotel Lake

The first morning I drove east for nearly 2 hours to Merritt Island, near the Canaveral National Seashore, where I planned to explore the Black Point Wildlife Drive. I had heard about this place for years and it was very exciting to finally be seeing it. I will admit right now that I did it backwards. I had planned to go to the visitors center, buy a Federal Duck Stamp to get me into national wildlife refuges for the next year, and use the restroom. (Did I mention that it was a 2 hour drive?) But when I mistakenly got to the entrance of the wildlife drive first, I realized too late that I was on a one way, no going back, 7 mile long dirt road. So I changed plans, paid at the iron ranger box, and drove along, birding from the car and hoping to find a porta potty. The wildlife was spectacular. There were so many birds that it was very hard to count, and I was keeping a bird list. I counted 30 species, and I'm not all that great at identifying shorebirds! But nature was calling and I decided I needed to zip through the loop and come back on a second trip, paying more attention to detail. At about the 3/4 mark, there was a rest area with bathrooms and a walking trail, so I stopped there. Much better. I finished the loop and then drove back to the beginning, hoping to see the visitors center somewhere along the way. But it was on a different turnoff, so I decided to drive the loop again and go the visitors center on the way home. The second time around was just as nice and I had a better idea of where to watch. I kept my eyes open for Avocets, but never found any. I did see Eagles, Reddish Egrets, Black Necked Stilts, Black Skimmers and Roseate Spoonbills, all of which are birds that don't usually make their way to Athens. Alas, when I finally made it to the visitors center, it was just closing. But they let me explore the grounds and boardwalk around the lake after the gates closed, so I was satisfied and tired out after a long day. Take my advice if you go plan to go there--go to the visitors center first.

Semi-palmated Plovers at Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Racer at Black Point Wildlife Drive

Reddish Egret and Tri-Colored Heron at Black Point Wildlife Drive

Roseate Spoonbill at Black Point Wildlife Drive

The next day I drove 35 miles south from our hotel, past the turnoff to the Disney Resorts, to the Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve. It was my first visit to a Nature Conservancy property and I was very impressed. The property was immaculate and beautifully maintained. I was met at the entrance by a pair of Wild Turkeys and it just got better after that. Next I encountered a Sandhill Crane near the parking lot, followed by a pair of Eastern Meadowlarks by the trailhead. I headed out with my map and supplies, confident that I could walk the entire trail system. But I underestimated how sunny and humid Florida can be, and I soon became too tired to complete it all, so I walked just the more moderate Red Loop. As I walked through their lovingly maintained fire-dependent Long Leaf Pine sandhills, I couldn't help but note the irony that I was walking through the real Florida on "Disney" property. But regardless of how it got there, I was also very thankful that various agencies had come together to preserve this important property at the headwaters of the Everglades. I saw loads of Zebra Swallowtail butterflies and Woodstorks soared overhead all morning. At the end of my hike I got a great look at a Swallow-tailed Kite. I thank my friend Grace for recommending this spot.

Eastern Meadowlark at Disney Wilderness Preserve

Swallow-tailed Kite at Disney Wilderness Preserve

The "Real Florida" at Disney Wilderness Preserve

On the final day, I drove 40 miles to the west to the Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, between Tampa and Orlando. My birding friends in Gainesville all talked about this place but the timing never worked out for me to go with them. Now that I've visited, I can understand why they felt it was so special. The park has a great visitors center with fun exhibits for children, and it appears that they serve a lot of school groups. It is reassuring to know that kids all over this region of Florida can be exposed to a vibrant nature discovery center such as this. The park is very protective of the abundant wildlife, with signs directing visitors to take special care around nesting owls. Fellow visitors pointed out an adult and juvenile Barred Owl in a tree right over the main path, and later I heard 2 more calling back and forth. They also require commercial photographers to obtain a permit, which was unusual. But knowing how people can behave with their cameras and drones, I can appreciate wanting some accountability. Because I sell some of my work, they had me apply and now I have my official photographer's permit card. Pretty nifty! One of the main trails, Alligator Alley, was closed, I think due to storm damage. But there were plenty of places for me to go and I saw Alligators, Turtles, wading birds galore, as well as Marsh Rabbits, an Opossum, and a family of Sandhill Cranes. I'm so happy that I finally made it to this wonderful nature park.

Purple Gallinule at Circle B Bar Reserve

Alligator, Schmalligator. A big one crossing the path in front of me at Circle B Bar Reserve

Opossum rambling up the path, Circle B Bar Reserve

Sandhill Crane Family at Circle B Bar Reserve

Barred Owl Adult and Juvenile at Circle B Bar Reserve

So after 9 days in Florida, I went back home, content that I spent my time well. I chalked a big group of parks off of my "must visit" list. We even fit in a half day at the other Disney and had a pretty great time on Space Mountain and the other rides. It was fun to discover Florida. But I think I learned my lesson and won't let 20 years roll by before I explore Georgia properly. I'm getting the map ready now!