Though small, this county park is one of the best shorebird sites in Hernando County. Park your car and walk the sandy beach, scanning the mudflats for loafing terns (Forster's, Royal and Caspian), gulls (Laughing, Herring and Bonaparte's) and winter shorebirds like Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, Marbled Godwit and Western Sandpiper.
Bayport Park is worth a quick check if you're in the vicinity; drive the hammock road into the park and listen for songbirds. Scan the salt marsh and flats for waders. Weekends and summer days can be busy at this site, so plan your visits accordingly. Take advantage of the two boat ramps for aquatic viewing adventures on the Mud River or the Gulf of America.
Part of a nearly unbroken swath of protected public lands which extend 200 miles from the Apalachicola River south to Pasco County, this WMA has much to offer. Enter at Indigo Lane (A), where an 8-mile, interpretive, driving tour loop begins. A series of single-lane, unpaved roads wind through sandhills, flatwoods, hardwood/palm hammocks, transition zones and one of the largest and most pristine hardwood swamps in all of Florida. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the tour, but take extra time to hike or bike the numerous trails and tram roads leading into the forests, scrub, swamp and marshes.
Visitors to the WEA and Chinsegut Conservation Center will certainly be rewarded by the abundant diversity of wildlife awaiting discovery in this tranquil corner of Hernando County. The WEA's bounty lies mainly in its sandhills, hardwoods and freshwater wetlands found on two separate tracts; these are connected by the 2-mile Prairie to Pines Trail. The 408-acre Conservation Center Tract has an education facility, a butterfly and native plant garden (with a water feature and bird feeders), remnants of a historic homestead, numerous bat houses used by a large colony of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, and 2.1 miles of trails and boardwalks.
The Citrus Tract/Citrus WMA is a designated Important Bird Area that showcases another part of the vast Withlacoochee State Forest's great wildlife viewing opportunities. This site is also one of the best locales in Florida to see Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs). High-quality sandhills shelter several additional target species including Bachman's Sparrow, Red-headed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Osceola Wild Turkey and Northern Bobwhite. Hardwood hammocks and scrub habitats are also present.
Formerly known as Hernando Beach Park, this county-owned site on Jenkins Creek is ideal for beginning birders. From the main parking area, a footbridge over the creek leads to a 40-foot observation tower with a superb view of the marsh and the Gulf of America.
The McKethan Lake Day Use Area lies 0.2 miles north of the Withlacoochee State Forest's visitor center, where you can pick up a map and other information about the 157,479-acre forest. The entrance road circles this site's park-like margins, which are shaded by large live oaks. A 2-mile nature trail leaves from the entrance pay station and crosses the road several times as it winds through the scenic hardwood hammock surrounding this site.
A component of the Chassahowitzka-Weekiwachee Important Bird Area, the Weekiwachee Preserve protects a first magnitude spring, portions of the Weeki Wachee and Mud Rivers, hardwood swamps, sandhills, flatwoods, freshwater marsh, salt marsh and numerous pit lakes. Look for winter sparrows, Florida black bears and butterflies.
Though small, this county park is one of the best shorebird sites in Hernando County. Park your car and walk the sandy beach, scanning the mudflats for loafing terns (Forster’s, Royal and Caspian), gulls (Laughing, Herring and Bonaparte’s) and winter shorebirds like Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, Marbled Godwit and Western Sandpiper.
Bayport Park is worth a quick check if you’re in the vicinity; drive the hammock road into the park and listen for songbirds. Scan the salt marsh and flats for waders. Weekends and summer days can be busy at this site, so plan your visits accordingly. Take advantage of the two boat ramps for aquatic viewing adventures on the Mud River or the Gulf of America.
Part of a nearly unbroken swath of protected public lands which extend 200 miles from the Apalachicola River south to Pasco County, this WMA has much to offer. Enter at Indigo Lane (A), where an 8-mile, interpretive, driving tour loop begins. A series of single-lane, unpaved roads wind through sandhills, flatwoods, hardwood/palm hammocks, transition zones and one of the largest and most pristine hardwood swamps in all of Florida. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the tour, but take extra time to hike or bike the numerous trails and tram roads leading into the forests, scrub, swamp and marshes.
Visitors to the WEA and Chinsegut Conservation Center will certainly be rewarded by the abundant diversity of wildlife awaiting discovery in this tranquil corner of Hernando County. The WEA’s bounty lies mainly in its sandhills, hardwoods and freshwater wetlands found on two separate tracts; these are connected by the 2-mile Prairie to Pines Trail. The 408-acre Conservation Center Tract has an education facility, a butterfly and native plant garden (with a water feature and bird feeders), remnants of a historic homestead, numerous bat houses used by a large colony of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, and 2.1 miles of trails and boardwalks.
The Citrus Tract/Citrus WMA is a designated Important Bird Area that showcases another part of the vast Withlacoochee State Forest’s great wildlife viewing opportunities. This site is also one of the best locales in Florida to see Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs). High-quality sandhills shelter several additional target species including Bachman’s Sparrow, Red-headed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Osceola Wild Turkey and Northern Bobwhite. Hardwood hammocks and scrub habitats are also present.
Formerly known as Hernando Beach Park, this county-owned site on Jenkins Creek is ideal for beginning birders. From the main parking area, a footbridge over the creek leads to a 40-foot observation tower with a superb view of the marsh and the Gulf of America.
The McKethan Lake Day Use Area lies 0.2 miles north of the Withlacoochee State Forest’s visitor center, where you can pick up a map and other information about the 157,479-acre forest. The entrance road circles this site’s park-like margins, which are shaded by large live oaks. A 2-mile nature trail leaves from the entrance pay station and crosses the road several times as it winds through the scenic hardwood hammock surrounding this site.
A component of the Chassahowitzka-Weekiwachee Important Bird Area, the Weekiwachee Preserve protects a first magnitude spring, portions of the Weeki Wachee and Mud Rivers, hardwood swamps, sandhills, flatwoods, freshwater marsh, salt marsh and numerous pit lakes. Look for winter sparrows, Florida black bears and butterflies.