Wildlife
Karla Brandt
Wood Storks and Egret in Pine Tree
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Spirit-of-the-Wild’s mix of wetlands and uplands and its location
immediately adjacent to the long, linear wetland known as Okaloacoochee
Slough, create excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. Heron, egret,
ibis, roseate spoonbill and wood stork congregate at ditches and
wetlands. Crested caracara, Florida sandhill cranes, eastern meadowlarks
and killdeer frequent open pastures. Scan fence lines for loggerhead
shrikes and small prey impaled on barbed-wire. The regularly burned pine
flatwoods host northern bobwhite quail, several woodpecker species and
resident and migratory warblers. Watch for white-tailed deer and wild
turkey in clearings and along the edges of woodlands and sloughs.
Swallow-tailed kites are a spring and summer specialty usually spotted
in flight over open areas. Autumn blooms in wetlands and roadside
ditches attract numerous species of butterflies. This area is part of
the Great
Florida Birding Trail.
