PRAS Walkabout at Amberjack Preserve
We will gather at the parking lot located at the end of Gasparilla Pines Blvd, Placida, FL 33946 at 8 AM. We will walk 2 trails that lead to separate boardwalk decks at Lemon Lake, approximately 3 miles round trip.
Located at the end of Gasparilla Pines Blvd, Placida, FL Amberjack Environmental Park is a 225-acre preserve made up of rare and unique scrub, pine flatwoods, marshes and Lemon Lake located on the southern half of the Cape Haze peninsula. It is traversed by two significant wetlands, one that formed the headwaters of a tributary to the Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve and one that drains into the west branch of Coral Creek. They are havens for several species of wading birds, including great blue herons, glossy ibis, roseate spoonbills, and snowy egrets and migrating ducks. The walks to Lemon Lake are frequented by migrating warblers, Catbirds, Black Birds and Florida residential species. A family of Florida scrub-jays lives in the northern part of the park, while gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, and the Florida mouse – all protected animals – also live in these dry habitats, and ospreys can often be seen in flight overhead. Common plants seen there are dwarf, tangled-looking sand live and myrtle oaks, palmetto, slash pine, rusty lyonia, and wiregrass.
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