Pasco

An excellent place to enjoy a sunset, this small park on the Gulf of America has a large fishing pier with great views of wildlife on the mudflats and on the water.The fishing pier is open 24 hours/day. A boardwalk connects to Key Vista Nature Park to the north.

Check out this small waterfront park for wading birds like Snowy and Reddish Egrets and shorebirds such as Black-bellied Plovers feeding on the flats and in the shallows of the Anclote River. This site has a popular beach and a multi-lane boat launch that tend to be busy on weekends, so come early, or on a weekday for the best wildlife viewing experience.

This delightful Pasco County park offers a superb view of Crews Lake, where overwintering waterbirds like Least Sandpiper, Dunlin and Ring-necked Duck loaf and forage. Bring your spotting scope and take the boardwalk out to the observation deck to scan the lake, and then climb the adjacent observation tower for an even better look. The park checklist contains more than 200 bird species; this one is a must-see.

The 560,000-acre Green Swamp spans four counties, gives rise to four major river systems and provides much of central Florida’s drinking water supply. The Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve’s West Tract (part of the Green Swamp Ecosystem Important Bird Area) is but one component of a 110,000-acre parcel safeguarding the portion of the swamp that gives rise to the Withlacoochee River. The West Tract also provides excellent recreational access to upland pasture, sandhills, cypress domes, riverfront and “Wildcat Swamp”.

An unexpected treasure in the middle of New Port Richey, this preserve has a site checklist of 140+ species. Visitors may hike the river or upland (scrub and sandhills) loop trails or paddle the river, which changes quickly from a wide waterway to a winding stream over-arched with vegetation.Park amenities include a canoe launch, boardwalk and observation deck. No pets are allowed at this preserve.

Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park is one of three tracts comprising the 18,000-acre Starkey Wilderness Preserve (an Important Bird Area), which helps safeguard the Anclote and Pithlachascotee Rivers and the region’s water supply. The preserve, cooperatively managed by Pasco County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, protects freshwater swamps and marshes, scrub, sandhills, pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks. Start at the nature center on the west side of the park to get yourself oriented, and then take the boardwalk behind the center across the floodplain forest to the Pithlachascotee River. The best birding by far is along the 6.7-mile paved bike trail, which connects to the paved 42-mile Suncoast Trail on the east side of the park.

Though fairly small in size, this nature park offers hiking trails through sand pine uplands and a viewing tower overlooking mud flats on the Gulf where shorebirds and waders feed at low tide. A splendid 0.2-mile boardwalk on the south side of the park connects to Anclote Gulf Park. This park is part of the Coastal Pasco Important Bird Area, which encompasses 7 separate locations.

Don’t miss this small but productive gem on the Gulf of America; birders have recorded 200 species at this compact peninsular park.Wintering sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns congregate on its beach, and the park has a tendency for remarkable songbird landfall events in spring migration. Get here early–the entrance gate area (nicknamed the “Green Key Funnel”) can be excellent for hordes of spring migrants.

This site protects 4 miles of pristine coastline north of Port Richey along with its namesake salt springs, salt and grass flats, seagrass beds, salt marshes and tidal creeks. While much of this property is not yet accessible to the public, three separate areas are currently open for hiking and kayaking.

Pasco County’s Withlacoochee River Park protects sandhill bluffs overlooking the river, as well as floodplain forest, a small wet prairie and other seasonal wetlands. Amenities include a 40-foot viewing tower, picnic shelters and restrooms for family birding. The Florida Trail Association maintains 5 miles of hiking trails in the park; 8 miles of additional trails (including a 1.7-mile paved trail) are available.