Four days of field and boat trips, expert seminars, keynote speakers, and a free nature expo!

Schedule:

8:00 - 11:30 am: Outback Key Preserve
Outback Key and Lower Terra Ceia Bay with Tampa Bay Watch - Boat Trip
This boat trip will go out to a barrier island on the Gulf that is a prime birding spot. You will ride out, then walk parts of the island scanning for shore birds, including Marbled Godwits, Willets, Long-billed Curlews, and plenty of peeps, plus waders and possibly Reddish Egrets. You will then boat into Terra Ceia to the islands of Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge, including ******* Key, a roost site for Magnificent Frigatebirds! Your leader is a shorebird expert so you’ll get plenty of tips on how to distinguish one from another. Be sure to bring sunscreen, water, snacks, hat, and anything you will want on the boat or island walk. Wear shoes that can get wet so that you can walk on Outback Key. Photo credit: Sam Schnapf

Tickets are $60 plus $2.00 tolls

8:00 - 11:30 am: Se7en Wetlands, Lakeland, Polk County
Se7en Wetlands - Wagon Trip
Bring water, snacks. There is a restroom at the office, and one partway around the wetlands.
Se7en Wetlands is a gorgeous example of restoration. Once a phosphate mine, the City of Lakeland owns and operates Se7en Wetlands south of Lakeland. The 1,600 acres of marshes, swamps, uplands, and lakes are designed into a wetland treatment system using seven ponds of various depths. Water circulates from one to the next to provide final polishing treatment for the City’s wastewater with connection to the North Prong of the Alafia River, which flows directly to Tampa Bay. Se7en Wetlands boasts an outstanding and diverse community of plant and animal species. In the spring it hosts a waterbird breeding colony including Roseate Spoonbills and Wood Storks. In the winter American Bitterns and sandpipers use the wetlands habitats Two pairs of Bald Eagles nest there. We will travel by van around the larger wetlands uplands where the incoming water is distributed. We will stop to search for birds, alligators, otters or other wildlife. There will not be much walking, but we will be getting into and out of the van frequently.

Tickets are $30

8:00 - 11:30 am: Roberts Bay Bird Colony Island
Roberts Bay Bird Colony Island on the Carefree Learner - Boat Trip
We’ll cruise south across Sarasota Bay to see the islands, habitat for the largest nesting colony for wading birds and Brown Pelicans in Sarasota Bay. The Roberts Bay Bird Colony has been designated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a “Critical Wildlife Area” and is managed by Audubon Florida. Listed species including Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Reddish Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, and American Oystercatchers. We will coast near the three islands and observe the behavior of these beautiful wading birds.
Commentary will be provided by the professional staff of Audubon Florida’s Coastal Islands Sanctuaries.
Tickets are $60 plus $2.00 tolls

8:00 am - Noon: Cross Bar/Al Bar Ranch
Cross Bar/Al Bar Ranch, Spring Hill, Pasco County
The 12,500-acre Cross Bar/Al Bar Ranch is managed as a wellfield by Pinellas County Utilities. With wetlands, oak hammock, pine flatwoods, and open pastures, it offers prime birding but is not normally open to the public. Accompanied by the site managers, you will carpool out to check the wetlands for waders and the pastures for Burrowing Owls. Florida Scrub-Jays, Barred Owls and even coyotes are possible sightings. Preferably drive a vehicle with AWD that can handle rough roads. Bring snacks and beverages, as there is nothing available at the site.

Tickets are $25

8:30 - 11:00 am: Duette Preserve
Duette Preserve: Natural History, Restoration, and Management - Wagon Trip
Come and take a ride back in time across an austere landscape where grasses, wildflowers, and palmetto still dominate; where longleaf pine stands are being restored, Bachman’s sparrows and scrub jays are thriving. Our wagon comfortably seats 20. Joining us will be the manager of our Education and Volunteer Division, Aedan Stockdale and manager of the Resource Management team Mike Elswick. We’ll discuss the history of the site, the plants and wildlife found there, and the restoration and management efforts past and ongoing.

Tickets are $30

8:30 am - 12:00 pm: Honeymoon Island
Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County
Honeymoon Island State Park is well known for the migrants it attracts and the many shorebirds that use its beaches. Your leader is the Environmental Specialist for the park, and shorebirds are his specialty, so this should be a great walk! Besides all the plovers and sandpipers, godwits and Willets, Reddish Egrets and oystercatchers along the shorelines, Merlins patrol the edges looking for an unwary breakfast, Great Horned Owls nest in the pine forest on the island, and the Osprey Trail is well named. This trip will focus on shorebirds, how to distinguish them in their winter drab and by their shapes and postures. The back lagoon will probably have the waders who prefer quieter waters. Take a picnic lunch for a post-walk lunch on the beach or at picnic tables near the Osprey Trail at the north end of the park road.

Tickets are $25

8:30 am - 12:00 pm: Cockroach Bay
Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve
The Cockroach Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project represents one of the largest, most complex coastal ecosystem restoration projects ever developed for Tampa Bay. Named for the abundant horseshoe crabs (“roaches”) in the nearby waters, after 20 years the Preserve is a model of habitat diversity. Wading birds will be leaving a nearby night roost. A moderate hike up “Mount Cockroach” offers a view of the tidal and freshwater wetlands and gallinules, Limpkins and egrets. Neotropical migrants abound in the savannah-like landscape. Both White and Glossy ibis frequent the freshwater ponds and wetlands, as do Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. The area is close to the bay so gulls and terns will sail overhead. Gull‐billed Terns nest nearby and often continue in the area year‐round. Spoonbills use the tidal lagoon, and passerines forage in the old oaks. The freshwater pond to the south is well‐known for the wintering ducks to be found there.

Tickets are $25

12:00 - 3:30 pm: Upper Tampa Bay Paddling Trip
Experience a celestial event – the changing of the tides - and the habitats at Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park during this two and a half-hour kayak adventure! Kayak out Double Branch Creek to Old Tampa Bay with the ebb tide, explore the open bay during the slack, and return to the launch site with the incoming tide. Pass mangrove forests, oysterbars, sand and mudflats, and seagrass beds. Look for American Oystercatchers, herons and egrets, Ospreys, and shorebirds and perhaps manatees and dolphins. Our leaders are County Park Managers and bird experts.

Tickets are $60

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