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Crystal River & Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Parks


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⏳ Mar 2018







Crystal River State Park


The Crystal River Preserve is a remnant of the Florida coastline that has changed little since Europeans more than 500 years ago. It is located in a transitional area from a temperate and sub-tropical climate zone and contains plants and animals from both regions. The preserve follows 20 miles (30 km) of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico from Crystal River though Ozello to Homosassa. The Crystal River Archaeological State Park is located within the park boundary and managed by the Crystal River Preserve State Park (Wikipedia).

Florida



Crystal Cove Trail


Crystal Cove Trail
ubeetrip
Florida
ubeetrip

Boat Tour

Boat Tour
Osprey Chick
Osprey Chick
Osprey chick asking for food
Osprey chick asking for food

Osprey Chick Learning to Fly: Landing
Osprey Chick Learning to Fly: Landing
Osprey Chick Learning to Fly: Landing

White Ibis
White Ibis

Bald eagle
Bald eagle

Ozello


Ozello consists of several keys which are connected by The Ozello Trail (C.R. 494) a twisting roadway that has several sharp curves running west off of U.S. 19-98. The trail is very popular with motorcyclists, and features a great deal of wildlife scenery (Wikipedia).

Camouflaged Green Heron
Camouflaged Green Heron

Great Blue Heron with Fish Head


Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park


The park is one of the best places in the state to view manatees. Visitors can get close to the animals on a floating observatory. Black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, American alligators, and river otters can also been seen in the park. The park is also home to the hippopotamus Lu, famously known for his performances in many movies for the past 40 years. The park is officially named Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in honor of Elmyra Felburn Schiller (1943 – 2009), a benefactor of the Florida state park system.
Native Americans lived in the area of Homosassa Springs, Florida long before the first non-indigenous people entered the area. Within 200 years of encounter the original inhabitants of the area were decimated by disease and colonial warfare. Soon after the area was re-settled by several groups of Native Americans displaced from other areas, including the Seminoles and Miccosukee.
The springs are a historical attraction with documented accounts of tourism dating back to the 1880s. In the 1920s the attraction was expanded to several structures which no longer exist, and a public swimming area was located at the spring. The 1940s led to more expansion, along with the construction of the first underwater observatory which consisted of an iron tank with small windows on each side (Wikipedia).

Wood duck chicks saved from blue heron

Male Anhinga

Wood duck couple

Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus)

Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) or sergeant fish

West Indian Manatee

Florida panther

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

Brown Pelican

American White Pelican (one of 2 species of Florida pelicans). 8 pelican species in the world.

Roseate Spoonbills

Green Heron

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) 

Black-bellied whistling duck

American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America

Whooping Crane. More info.

Crested Caracara. Often feeds on carrion. Aggressive, it may chase vultures away from road kills. Widespread in the American tropics, it enters U.S. only near the Mexican border and in Florida. "Caracara" comes from a South American Indian name, based on the bird's call. Sounds.

Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) naturalized in Florida (native to boreal and western montane portions of North America). As many as 10,000 live in London; they colonized the city after World War II. Gray fox is the other fox in Florida. See list of Florida mammals.

Lu the Hippo





















Happy 60th Birthday, Lu!










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Wildlife & Flora

A rizona popcorn flower Acacia Adélie penguin Adonis Blue Butterfly Agave Alaska moose Alaska rabbit Alaska Shasta Daisies Albino alligator Allenrolfea occidentalis Alligator Allionia Allium hollandicum Alpaca Alpine columbine Amanita bisporigera American alligator American antelope American coot American crow American Holly American kestrel American Pekin American pipit American robin American rosefinch American white ibis American white pelican American wigeon Andean ibis Angelica lucida Anhinga Anole lizard Antarctic shag Antarctic Tern Appias drusilla Apricot mallow Araucaria araucana Archey's frog Arctic ground squirrel Arctic tern Arizona Bladderpod Armadillo Ashy-headed goose Astragalus canadensis Atlantic sand fiddler Audubon's warbler Austral thrush Azalea Bald eagle Banana spider Banded watersnake Barn swallow Barnacle goose Barometer earthstar Barrel cactus Bat house Bauhinia tree Beach rose Beaver Beavertail cactus Begonia boliviensis Begonia fimbriata Belding's ground squirrel Belted galloway cattle Belted kingfisher Bewick's wren Bidens ferulifolia Bidens laevis Bighorn sheep Bird vetch Bird's-foot trefoil Bison Black bear Black Guillemot Black Phoebe Black skimmer Black Swallowtail Black vulture Black-and-white warbler Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied whistling duck Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed magpie Black-browed albatross Black-capped chickadee Black-capped Siskin Black-chinned Siskin Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-headed grosbeak Black-headed Gull Black-legged kittiwake Black-necked grebe Black-necked Stilt Black-necked Swan Black-tailed gnatcatcher Black-tailed gull Black-tailed jackrabbit Black-throated sparrow Blackbird Blackbrush Bladdersage Blazing star Bloody cranesbill Blue columbine Blue jay Blue mussel Blue-gray gnatcatcher Blue-winged teal Boat-tailed grackle Boreal woodland caribou Boschniakia rossica Bottlenose dolphin bougainvillea red Brazilian dwarf morning-glory also named Hawaiian Blue Eyes 'Blue Daze' (Evolvulus glomeratus) Brewer's blackbird Bristle thistle Bronze-winged duck Brown anole Brown pelican Brown skua Brown Thrasher Brown-backed Whistler Brown-crested flycatcher Brown-headed cowbird Buff-tailed bumblebee Bufflehead Bugleherb Bullock's oriole Bumblebee Cactus Cactus(Night-blooming cereus) Caesalpinia gilliesii California fan palm California gull California mule deer California sea lion Calliandra Calliandra haematocephala Camellia Campsis radicans Canada goose Canadian dogwood Candelabra aloe Canyon wren Cape honeysuckle Cape marigold Cape petrel Cardinal Cardinal climber Cardinal female bird Carolina chickadee Carolina locust Carolina satyr Carolina Wren Carrion crow Cat Catclaw mesquite Caterpillar Cellar beetle Chain ferns Chalk-browed mockingbird Chandelier Plant Checkered White Cheesebush Cherokee bean Cherry tree Chesapeake blue crab Chilean Sheep Chilean skua Chilean Swallow Chimango Caracara Chinstrap penguin Chitalpa-Pink Dawn Chocolate (black) lily Cholla cactus Chukar partridge Cinnamon Fern Cipres macrocarpa Clematis 'Markham's Pink' Cliff chipmunk Cliffrose Cnidoscolus stimulosus Cocoa Thrush Cocoi heron Coconut Coigue Cold-desert Phlox Columbian Ground Squirrel Common buckeye Common Chaffinch Common columbine Common daisy Common Eider Common evening-primrose Common gallinule Common grackle Common green darner Common ground dove Common guillemot Common gull Common loon Common merganser Common moorhen Common Murre Common pheasant Common raven Common Redshank Common Redstart Common rosefinch Common sandpiper Common shelduck Common side-blotched lizard Common starling Common stork's-bill Common tern Conozoa Coontie Coot Coscoroba swan Cottongrass Cottontop barrel cactus Cottonwood Cottonwood tree Cow Coyote Crab Crabeater seal Crassula cultrata Creeping indigo Creosote bush Crescent milkvetch Crested duck Crimson Anemone Crinum latifolium Crowded parchment Culpeo Cypress tree Daisy Dall Sheep Dama Dark-bellied Cinclodes Dark-eyed Junco Darkling beetle Decorated Warbonnet Deer Delphinium parryi Desert almond Desert evening-primrose Desert marigold Desert onion Desert willow Desmodium incanum Dianthus Dicranum scoparium Dieteria canescens Dog violet Domestic rabbit Donkey Double Crested Cormorant Double-crested cormorant Douglas-fir Dragonfly dune sunflower Dung beetle Dungeness crab Dusky dolphin Dusky Rockfish Duskywing Dwarf chamaesaracha Dwarf fireweed Eared dove Eastern Bluebird Eastern gray squirrel Eastern Phoebe Eastern tiger swallowtail Eastern Towhee Echinomastus johnsonii Egyptian goose Elk Emilia fosbergii Emilia sonchifolia Emu Ephedra torreyana Eristalis arbustorum Eurasian collared dove Eurasian coot Eurasian magpie Eurasian oystercatcher Eurasian siskin European black slug European herring gull European rabbit European Robin European stonechat Evening Primrose Falkland steamer duck Feathertop Fernbush Fiddler crab Fire ant Fireweed Fish Fish crow Florida box turtle Florida gar Florida mud turtle Florida Panther Florida pusley Florida softshell turtle Flying steamer duck Footstool palm Forked bluecurls Forster's Tern foxglove Foxtail barley Franklin's gull Fry Fulmar Gadwall Galápagos giant tortoise Gambel oak Gambel's quail Garden grape-hyacinth Gardenia Gentoo penguin Geranium erianthum Giant leaf-footed bug Giant Sequoia Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Globe mallow Glossy ibis Goat Golden barrel cactus Golden silk spider Gopher tortoise Gosling Grass duck Grasshopper Grasshopper skin Grassland Yellow-Finch Gray catbird Gray whale Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch Graylag Goose Great basin fence lizard Great black-backed gull Great blue heron Great cormorant Great crested flycatcher Great Crested Grebe Great Egret (Ardea alba) Great horned owl Great white egret Greater scaup Green Anole Green grasshopper Green Heron Green lichen Green-tailed towhee Grey heron Grey seal Grey-backed storm petrel Greylag Goose Grizzly bear Guanaco Guillemot Guira Cuckoo Gulf fritillary Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Gull Gull-billed tern Hackberry emperor Hairy cowpea Hairy daisy Harbor seal Hartlaub's gull Hen Hermit Crabs Hermit Thrush Hesperaloe parviflora Hexagonia hydnoides High plateau coconut palm Highland Cattle Highland Cattle. Himalayan blue poppy Holstein Friesian cattle Honey bee Honey bee nest Hooded crow Hooded merganser Horned grebe Horned lark Horned puffin Horseshoe crab House Sparrow Hover flies Huckleberry hawthorn Hummingbird Humpback Whale Humpback Whales Iceberg rose Iceland poppy Icelandic horse Icelandic sheep Imperial shag Inca Tern Indian blanket Iris setosa Ironweed Borer Isabelline wheatear Isocoma Jacob sheep Jellyfish Jimsonweed Jojoba Joshua tree Kashmiri goat Katydid Kelp goose Kelp Gull Kestrel Killdeer Killer whale (orca) King Eider King Penguin Kingcup cactus Kittiwake Krameria erecta Laccaria laccata Langloisia setosissima Lark sparrow Lasiandra Laughing Gull Lazuli bunting Leaf-footed pine seed bug Least chipmunk Least sandpiper Lichens Licorice fern Light-mantled albatross Lilac Limpkin Lion's ear Little auk Little Blue Heron Lizard's tail Llama Loblolly pine Lodgepole chipmunk Loggerhead shrike Long-leaf phlox Long-tailed duck Lu the Hippo Lupinus argenteus Lupinus nootkatensis Lyreleaf sage Lysimachia europaea Mabel orchard orb-weaver Macaw Magellanic cormorant Magellanic oystercatcher Magellanic penguin Magic of the Salt Marsh Malacothrix incana (Dunedelion) Mallard Maple tree Marbled godwit Marsh crab Marsh rabbit Marsh snail Marsh wren Meadow pipit Meligethes aeneus Merremia dissecta Mesa pepperwort Milkvetch Millipede Moapa bladderpod Mockingbird Mojave indigo bush Mojave mound cactus Mojave Popcorn Flower Mojave yucca Monk Parakeet Moorhen moose with calf Morning glory Moss Mountain bluebird Mountain goat Mountain gum Mourning dove Moustached Turca Mule Deer Muscovy duck Musk ox Mussel Mute swan Myrtle warbler Mythic Illanda Narcissus anemone Nasturtium Natal plum Neoregelia coriacea Neotropic cormorant Night heron Night-blooming cereus Nootka rose North American river otter Northern Fulmar Northern gannet Northern geranium Northern groundcone Northern mockingbird Northern paper wasp Northern pintail Northern rough-winged swallow Northern shoveler Northern wheatear Notch-leaved phacelia Oak Toad Oasis hummingbird Oenothera pallida Opuntia cochenillifera Opuntia oricola Orchard orb weaver Orchard spider Osprey Osprey Chick Ostrich Otter Ovenbird Owl calls Oxeye Daisy Oyster Catcher Oystercatcher Ozello Pale-breasted thrush Palm warbler Palo Verde tree Panicled aster Papaver alpinum Parmotrema perlatum Peacock Pectis Penstemon palmeri Penstemon parryi Penstemon secundiflorus (One-sided penstemon) Peruvian Booby Peruvian Pelican Peruvian Pipit Petrochelidon Phacelia coerulea (Skyblue Phacelia) Phainopepla Phellinus igniarius Phlox Physaria Pica Pica Pickerelweed Pied-billed Grebe Pig Pigeon Guillemot Pigeon guillemots Pileated Woodpecker Pine Siskin Pink purslane Plateau fence lizard Pluchea sericea Plummera Pomegranate Pond snail Ponderosa pine Pope's phacelia Porcupine Possum Prickly pear Prickly wild rose Primula meadia Prince's plume Pronghorn Antelope Pronghorn Fawn Providence Petrel Pterophylla camellifolia Ptilostemon puffin Purple finch Purple kale Purple mustard Purple Sandpiper Purshia stansburiana Queen butterfly racoon Razorbill Red Admiral Butterfly Red columbine Red Crossbill Red elderberry Red grouse Red maple Red Shoveler Red Spider red squirrel Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted merganser Red-legged Kittiwake Red-shouldered hawk Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) Red-tailed hawk Red-throated Loon Redwing Reindeer Reindeer lichen Ring-billed gull Ring-necked duck Rock Pigeon Rock ptarmigan Rock shag Rock squirrel Rock wren Rosa moschata Rosa Rugosa Alba Rose Rose mallow Roseate spoonbill Roundleaf Bluet Royal tern Ruby-throated hummingbird Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy-headed goose Rufous-collared sparrow Russula emetica Rutidosis Sagebrush lizard Sagittaria lancifolia Saguaro cactus Salix lutea Salmonberry Salsola Salt Heliotrope Sand crab Sand dollar Sand martin Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandpiper Sauco Say's phoebe Scarlet gilia Scarlet globemallow Sconx sea clown Sea lavender Sea otter sea parrot Sea purslane Seagrape Seagull Sealion Sego lily Semipalmated plover Semipalmated sandpiper Serdang palm Shark carcass Short-beaked common dolphin Shorthorn Shrimp plant Shrubby cinquefoil Silver cholla Single-leaf ash Sitka deer Slander Woodoats Slug Small tortoiseshell Smoketree Snail Snail shell Snakehead Snapdragon Snow bunting Snowball Sand Verbena Snowshoe hare Snowy egret Snowy-crowned tern Solitary sandpiper South American sea lion South polar skua Southern black racer.Banana tree Southern Caracara Southern dewberry Southern Fulmar Southern giant petrel Southern Giant-Petrel Southern Lapwing Southern Sea Lion Spanish Moss Sparkleberry Spencer's Midden Spicebush Spiderwort Spiderwort blue Spiny phlox Sponge gourd Spotted beebalm Spotted sandpiper Spotted towhee Spotty Toad Lily Spreading dayflower Spreading Fleabane Sprenger's asparagus Spring azure Spurred butterfly pea Stansbury's cliffrose Starfish Steller sea lion Steller's jay Stilt sandpiper Stink bug Stone crabs Strawberry hedgehog cactus Super king ixora Svalbard reindeer Swainson's thrush Swallow-tailed kite Swallowtail butterfly Swamp rose Sweet pea Symphyotrichum subulatum Tall bluebells Tall whitetop Teddy-bear cholla Tepu Tetragnatha extensa Texas sabal palm The bull nettle Thick-billed Murre Tick mite Timucuan Toad Toad tadpole Townsend’s Daisy Trametes hirsuta Tree tobacco Trichodes apiarius Trichonephila clavata Tricolored heron Trout True crabs Trumpet vine Trumpeter swan Tufted duck Tufted evening-primrose Tufted Puffin Tufted Tit-Tyrant Tufted titmouse Tulip pricklypear Tulipa humilis Tumbleweed Turkey Vulture Turpentine bush Turtle Two-needle pinyon Upland goose Utah juniper Vahlodea atropurpurea Verbascum phoeniceum Verbesina hastata Vermilion flycatcher Viburnum edule Victory white camelia Vinca Violet-green swallow Viscacha Wahlenbergia Wandering Albatross Warbling vireo Wasatch beardtongue Wasp Water hyacinth Weddell seal Welsh black cattle Welsh mountain sheep Western bluebird Western Columbine Western gull Western jackdaw Western kingbird Western meadowlark Western sandpiper Western sycamore Western tanager Western tiger swallowtail Western whiptail Western wood pewee Westringia whale Whales Whimbrel Whirligig beetle White clover White evening primrose White lichen White prickly poppy White snakeroot White Stem Evening Primrose White Wagtail White-Beaked Dolphin White-chinned petrel White-crowned sparrow White-tailed antelope squirrel White-tailed deer White-tailed Hawk White-throated dipper Whitest evening primrose Wilcox's Woollystar Wild horse Wild mustang Wild petunia Wild potato vine Wild turkey Willet Willow Warbler Wilson's phalarope Wood alligator Wood bison Wood Pigeon Wood stork Woodland false buttonweed Wyeth's lupine Yaupon Yaupon holly Yellow toadflax Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied marmot Yellow-bellied sapsucker Yellow-bellied slider Yellow-billed Teal Yellow-crowned night-heron Yellow-legged gull Yellow-rumped warbler Yellow-spotted millipede Yellow-throated warbler Yerba mansa Yucca Zamia pumila Zebra longwing butterfly