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Home > Visitor
Information > Nature
You’ve seen the fantasy; now come see the real Florida.
Experience what you’ve seen on television. Allow yourself
to be touched by nature. Low key and low cost, renourish
your soul.
Unspoiled and protected, our beautiful
and natural parks are refuges for birds, mammals and
humans alike. Brooker
Creek Preserve’s 8,500 acres are home to more than
160 bird species, 20 amphibians, 50 reptiles and 40 mammals,
many of them rare or listed as protected in Florida and/or
the nation. Weedon
Island Preserve’s 1,500 island acres offers 9 miles
of hiking trails, 4 miles of canoe and kayak trails, a
fishing pier, observation platforms and an elevated boardwalk
providing an intimate view of the flora and fauna of Florida.
New is their Cultural and National Historic Center,
a National Historical Register site, which features a
creative blend of the Weedon Native American culture with
the environment. Guided walks are available at both the
state and nature parks.
Florida once was orange trees, cattle ranches and flush
with nature. The Starkey’s, original Florida pioneers,
have opened their working cattle ranch to visitors to
experience areas untouched since the 1800s. Just 45 minutes
from Clearwater, J.B.
Starkey’s Flatwoods Adventures offers history, amazing
scenery and lifelong memories. Wildlife sightings are
common. Two tours are offered in a “Range Buggy” or
on horseback.
An undisturbed barrier island, Caladesi
Island State Park the fifth finest beach in the United
States, is accessible by ferry or boat, and by foot from
Clearwater Beach (a three-plus mile walk; no automobile
access). The unspoiled island offers natural vegetation,
abundant bird life and interpretive programs for Florida
nature study. A ferry service to the island departs hourly
from Honeymoon
Island State Recreation Area marina. Boat berths are
available during the day at the marina.
Offering both quality and quantity of species, Clearwater
is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Commonly seen birds include
osprey, numerous species of egret, heron and gull, white
ibis, roseate spoonbill, immature bald eagle, brown pelican,
double-crested cormorant, willet and sanderling. Known
as the fish hawk, the osprey community is growing on Honeymoon
Island State Recreation Area with more than 20 nests
showing activity in 2002.
The Gulf of Mexico and our rivers offer watchable wildlife.
Approximately 2,600 manatees inhabit our springs, bays
and canals, feeding on aquatic plants. North American
river otters play in brackish creeks and streams. Everyone’s
favorite, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, can be seen
cavorting with beauty and grace. Alligators can be found
in some freshwater areas of the county. Over 300 species
of fish swim in our waters, most of them edible and all
of them worthy of study. Remember to "watch" Florida’s
wildlife today so that future generations can "see" them
in their natural environment. |
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Few destinations offer the
opportunity to visit five wildlife sanctuaries specifically
focused on rescue, rehabilitation and release of these
birds and mammals not often see as up close and personal
as these refuges allow.
With daily feedings, presentations and "hands-on" opportunities,
visit, view and learn the biology and behavior of bottlenose
dolphins, loggerhead sea turtles, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles,
river otters, sting rays, local fish and coral reefs at
the
Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The aquarium cares for
sick and injured marine mammals. Because Florida is the
second largest rookery in the world for the huge loggerhead
sea turtle, the Aquarium patrols the beaches daily, and
visitors can join them, to monitor nesting females and
tiny hatchlings as they begin their trek to the sea.
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| Moccasin
Lake Nature Park is a 51 acre preserve featuring rescued
and rehabilitated birds (including two bald eagles, a
black vulture, a red tail hawk and horned owl), reptilian,
insect and fish displays, plant and energy exhibits, and
nature trails through a diversity of natural Florida habitats,
allowing viewing of native birds, insects, amphibians,
mammals and reptiles.
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| The
Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary is home to more than 600
birds, representing dozens of species, living and recuperating
in the sanctuary; the center breeds permanently disabled
birds in hopes of releasing their offspring back into
nature. The Sanctuary treats over 10,000 injured birds
annually.
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| The
Suncoast Primate Sanctuary And Wildlife Rehabitation Center
opened in 1954 as a retirement home and rescue center
for unwanted or abandoned primate pets, research animals
and former show animals. The sanctuary presently cares
for thirty chimpanzees, one gorilla, three orangutans,
and twenty-one monkeys of nine different species.
Nowhere else but Wildlife
On Easy Street can one be face to face with over 200
big cats and many of the 20+ species of exotic and endangered
cats which number less than 200 on the planet. Some of
the ore unusual cats include fishing, leopard, geoffrey,
and bear but also protected are Asian lions, Siberian
lynx, clouded leopards, servals, tigers, caracals and
more.
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