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Crystal River & Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Parks

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Places: Crystal River Preserve State Park, Crystal Cove Trail, Ozello, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Wildlife & flora: Florida gar, Florida Panther, Great blue heron, Lu the Hippo, Osprey, Wood stork, Sunshine mimosa, Eastern ratsnake, American white ibis, Bald eagle, Green heron, Wood duck, American alligator, Yellow-bellied slider, Anhinga, Common snook, Cinnamon fern, West indian manatee, Great egret, American white pelican, Black-crowned night-heron, Double-crested cormorant, Brown pelican, Roseate spoonbill, Laughing gull, Green-winged teal, Blue-winged teal, Black-bellied whistling duck, American coot, Black bear, Red-tailed hawk, Eastern gray squirrel, American flamingo, Whooping crane, Crested caracara, Great horned owl, Red fox, Barn owl, Hippopotamus,

Crystal River Preserve State Park

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⏳ Mar 26, 2018

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 through 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).

Sunshine mimosa

Crystal Cove Trail

Eastern ratsnake

Boat Tour

Crystal River & Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Parks

Osprey Chick

Osprey chick asking for food

Osprey Chick Learning to Fly: Landing

American white ibis

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 hero

Great blue heron with fish head

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

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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

American alligator

Yellow-bellied slider

Male Anhinga

Wood duck couple

Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus)

Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) or sergeant fish

Cinnamon fern

West indian manatee

Wood duck female

Florida panther

Great egret

American white pelican

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 spoonbill

Green heron

Laughing gull, Green-winged teal and Blue-winged teal

Wood stork

Osprey

Wood stork (Mycteria americana)

Black-bellied whistling duck

American coot

Black bear

Red-tailed hawk

Juvenile Bald eagle

Eastern gray squirrel

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.

Great horned owl

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.

Barn owl

Lu the Hippo

(...passed away on June 8, 2025, at the age of 65. Born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960, Lu was the oldest known hippopotamus in the world and gained fame as a former movie and TV star before becoming an honorary Florida citizen in 1989.)