Sites near Orlando -- Round II

I recently posted a query on this topic and got several helpfull

replies. Thanks very much. No one mentioned the following sites, which

I subsequently learned about at www.panther.state.fl.us/gfc/viewing (A

cool Web site, BTW.) Can anyone specifically recommend any of them, or

recommend against them? (My time in the area will be pretty limited so

I want to make the most of it.) They are:

Tosohatchee State Reserve

Sunnyhill Restoration Area

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge

Blue Springs State Park

Thanks again for your help.

Gary:

Looked at the round one answers and did not get a good feel for what type of nature photography you were looking for. I realize that this may get to you late as you are probably here in Florida, however, I can arrange for you to have a photo shoot with Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Cougars, Bears, etc. while you are down here in Florida. You can see some of the animals in the wildlife portion of my website. http://www.florida-citrus.com

Let me know if I can be of assistance, my grove is in the Apopka area, close to Rock Springs Park (just down the road), and the Ocala National Forest (about an hour away).

Tom Mack

Gary,

Sunnyhill Restoration Area is a big parcel of land being reclaimed by the St. Johns River Water Management District. I've only been there once, and access seems to be primarily on foot, so I didn't get very far in. Nearby, however, is a fantastic birding location called Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area - Sunnyhill is north of Rte. 42, while Emeralda Marsh is about 5 miles south of 42 near the small town of Lisbon. You can take St.Rd. 452 south from 42 to get there, and there are numerous access points on 452, and on Emeralda Island Rd. which parallels 452. If you write the St. Johns River WMD at P.O. Box 1429, Palatka, FL 32178, and request a current map and regulations for Emeralda Marsh WMA, this will show you all the roads that traverse the area as well as parking areas and access points. I would particularly recommend the levee road surrounding Area 3, accessed via the Wood Duck Parking Area, S.M. Knight Parking area, or the West Yale Canal Parking areas. Area 3 is a big reclaimed flow-through wetland that is being used to filter and clean water pulled out of nearby Lake Griffin. It is loaded with ducks, coots, egrets and herons, and all sorts of other wetland birds right now, and in another month or two, breeding rookeries will start activity along the shore of Lake Griffin. It is foot access only from the parking areas, so be prepared to hike a bit. There are also some beautiful, mature live oak hammocks with huge masses of festooning Spanish moss in areas along Emeralda I. Road (esp. at the Bull Hammock Parking area). This whole WMA is a fantastic, and relatively little known gem for wildlife viewing. Blue Spring is a standard Florida state park - very user friendly, well-maintained trails and boardwalks, a beautiful spring run full of cool fish (native and introduced, fresh and salt-water) which can be viewed with relative ease if you're into that. It also has a variety of habitats, from riparian hammock to scrub, and a couple of clans of relatively tame scrub jays around the campground area. Manatees are consistently present in the spring run until about March, or whenever the St. Johns River temperature exceeds 72, and they move out. L. Woodruff NWR can be hit or miss for photography - I've spent 1000's of hours there, and have seen a ton of cool stuff. Sometimes it can be slow, though. Its centered around floodplain cordgrass marsh that borders the St. John's River, but includes some forested habitat as well, from hydric hammock to dry xeric hammock. It includes 3 large managed impoundments and about 10 miles of levees surrounding them where wading birds can sometimes be abundant. Photography of many of the birds will require a pretty long lens, although I occasionally get decent shots with a 400 (you can see some habitat shots and birds from Woodruff at www.stetson.edu/~pmay/). Limpkins can be conspicuous and easily photographable at times, as can gators and other typical marsh inhabitants. There are gopher tortoises and diamondbacks in the drier habitats along the railroad as you enter the refuge, though the db's can be quite difficult to find most of the time. Even if the wildlife isn't cooperating photographically, it is a beautiful and relaxing place with a real feel of isolation if you get far enough away from the parking lot. Unlike the Florida state parks, the number of people that use the area is much lower, and you can feel like you have the place to yourself sometimes. That's my brief (ha!) overview - feel free to e-mail me if you have more specific questions.