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1. Lake Trafford
- Location: end of Lake Trafford Road, Immokalee
- Hours: none
- Admission: none (there is a fee for guided boat tours and boat
rental -- check web site below)
- Facilities: Lake Trafford Marina (parking, concessions, restrooms,
boat tours & boat rental); Lake Trafford Park (adjacent to marina --
parking, picnic area, pier, boat ramp; no restrooms)
- Description: 1500-acre lake surrounded by wilderness; best way
to bird is by boat
- Web site: www.laketrafford.com
- Pictured above: Common Moorhen, Black-necked Stilt, Least Bittern
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2. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
- Location: 375 Sanctuary Road West -- (239) 348-9151
- Hours: 7 am-5:30 pm from October 1-April 11 -- 7 am-7:30 pm
from April 12-September 30
- Admission: $10/adult & $4/child with discounts for National
Audubon Society members
- Facilities: parking; restrooms, nature store, limited concessions
at visitor center
- Description: 11,000-acre sanctuary owned by National Audubon
Society; 2.25-mile boardwalk (wheelchair accessible) goes through
five habitats including pine flatland, wet prairie, marsh, lettuce lakes,
bald cypress forest
- Web site: www.corkscrew.audubon.org (click on "Wildlife"
and then "Birds" to get frequency of sightings charts)
- Pictured above: Wood Stork, Painted Bunting, Barred Owl
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3. Clam Pass Park
- Location: 410 Seagate Drive
- Hours: sunrise to sundown
- Admission: parking $3/day or have a Collier County beach parking
permit
- Facilities: parking; restrooms and concession stand at beach;
tram ride to beach
- Description: 35-acre park with mangrove forest, tidal lagoon,
coastal dunes, & beach; 3/4-mile boardwalk through mangroves
- Web site: www.colliergov.net
- Pictured above: Royal Tern, Ring-billed Gull, Sanderling
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4. Naples Beach
- Location: Gulf Shore Blvd between 5th Ave N and 32nd Ave S
- Hours: none
- Admission: parking meters for City of Naples non-residents
- Facilities: parking at ends of the avenues; restrooms and snack
bar at pier (pier at 12th Ave S)
- Description: expanse of beaches along Gulf coast
- Pictured above: Brown Pelican, Black-bellied Plover, Sandwich
Tern
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5. Sugden Regional Park
- Location: 4284 Avalon Drive
- Hours: 8 am - sundown
- Admission: none
- Facilities: parking; restrooms; 1.5-mile paved fitness
trail around lake; beach & swimming; fishing piers
- Description: 120-acre park with 60-acre lake
- Web site: www.colliergov.net
- Pictured above: Laughing Gull, Little Blue Heron, Osprey
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6. Eagle Lakes Community Park
- Location: 11565 Tamiami Trail East
- Hours: 8 am - 10 pm
- Admission: none
- Facilities: parking; restrooms; fitness trail; picnic shelter;
lighted athletic fields
- Description: 32-acre park; pine flatwood with three lakes, 2.5-mile
nature trail on berm around lakes (lakes are on the perimeter surrounding
the athletic fields); bird
checklist
- Web site: www.colliergov.net
- Pictured above: Bald Eagle, Dunlin, Mottled Duck
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7. Tigertail Beach
- Location: 400 Hernando Drive - Marco Island
- Hours: 8 am to sundown
- Admission: parking $3/day or have a Collier County beach parking
permit
- Facilities: parking; restrooms and concession stand at entrance;
picnic area
- Description: 31 acres along the shore; boardwalks over dunes
from parking area to beach
- Web sites: www.colliergov.net, Friends of Tigertail Beach
- Pictured above: Reddish Egret, Peregrine Falcon, Piping Plover
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8. Collier Seminole State Park
- Location: 20200 East Tamiami Trail -- (239) 394-3397
- Hours: 8 am - sundown
- Admission: $4/car (up to 8 people in car)
- Facilities: parking; restrooms; visitor center & store;
several campgrounds, 3/4-mile nature walk with boardwalk and observation
tower; 3.6-mile off road bicycle trail, 6.5-mile hiking trail;
13.5-mile canoe trail (& canoe rental); private concessionaire
offers boat tours into mangrove forest
- Description: mangrove forest, cypress swamp, salt marsh, pine
flatwood
- Web site: www.floridastateparks.org/collier-seminole
- Pictured above: Pileated Woodpecker, Great-crested Flycatcher,
Black-crowned Night Heron
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9. Janes Scenic Drive
- Location: Copeland FL; entrance about 16 miles south of I-75
exit 80, about 5 miles north of US 41-SR 29 intersection
- Hours: state park hours are 8 am - sundown
- Admission: none
- Facilities: none
- Description: Janes Scenic Drive is an 11-mile gravel road that
cuts through Fakahatchee Strand State Park, a 75,000-acre wilderness area.
Old logging trams (primitive to ultra-primitive condition) are located
along the road which visitors are welcome to walk on. Don't wander off
the trams; it's easy to get lost.
- Web sites: Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, alternate site
- Pictured above: American Crow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-throated
Warbler
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10. Everglades National Park boat tour
- Location: dock at Ranger Station, 1/2-mile south of traffic
circle
- Hours: call (239-695-2591 or 866-628-7275)
- Admission: call for boat tour times and prices
- Facilities: parking; restrooms, concessions, gift shop at Ranger
Station; canoe rental
- Description: Everglades National Park boat tour through mangrove
wilderness of 10,000 Islands
- Pictured above: Magnificent Frigatebird, Snowy Egret, White
Ibis
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11. Turner River Road
- Location: on US 41 (Tamiami Trail) 7.7 miles east of S.R. 29
intersection
- Hours: accessible 24 hours a day
- Admission: none
- Facilities: restrooms and parking at H.P.Williams Wayside at
the beginning of the road
- Description: 17-mile graded dirt road through a variety of habitats
in the Big Cypress National Preserve
- Web description: National Park Service guide
- Pictured above: Green Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Eastern Bluebird
- .
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- Delnor Wiggins State Park (web site)
- 11100 Gulfshore Drive (I-75 exit 111 and then west until
road ends at Gulf)
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barrier island park with beaches, dunes, mangrove lagoon;
ample paved parking, pavillion with restrooms, $5/car admission; open 8
am-sundown |
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- Loop Road / Monroe Station (web site)
- US 41 (Tamiami Trail) 20 miles east of intersection with
SR 29
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dirt road that begins in Big Cypress National Preserve
and returns to US 41 in Everglades National Park; road can be rough in rainy
season; no facilities or admission fee |
| |
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- Picayune Strand State Forest (web site)
- Sabal Palm Rd. (4.3 miles south of I-75 off CR 951, and
then 3.2 miles east of intersection with CR 951)
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use the Sabal Palm Hiking Trail (3.5-miles in figure
8 pattern, look for "Trailwalker" sign); stay on marked trail
and take water; there will be wet portions during rainy season; no facilities;
open dawn to dark |
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- Fritchey Road Wetlands
- Fritchey Road (from intersection of CR 951 and US 41,
go 3.3 miles east on US 41 to Greenway Road and turn left; the go .75 miles
to Fritchey Rd. and turn right
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bird from the road and look to the flooded fields and wetlands
to the right; no facilities or admission fee |
| |
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- STA5 (Stormwater Treatment
Area 5)
- Hendry County
|
Created wetlands east of Immokalee -- reservations and
guide required. Click HERE for information |
The
Challenge of Birding: Birds may occur commonly, not so commonly,
and/or seasonally at each of these sites. Because they are highly mobile
and well camouflaged, it is always a gamble as to whether or not you will
see them. That is one of the challenges that makes birding fun.