Homosassa springs wildlife state park

Homosassa Springs is not your typical state park.  Unlike most state parks there are very few hiking trails... but there are a lot of animals.  Homosassa serves more as a nature center, where they accept injured animals that cannot be released back into the wild and display them.  So most of the animals there are native to the florida region.

They had reptiles and mammals; like alligators, snakes, red foxes, cougars, and bobcats.

They also had a variety of birds, including several species of owls and hawks.  They had just opened a new exhibit, a walk-in aviary, when we went.  This exhibit featured many shorebirds like ospreys, herons, and my new obsession, the spoonbill.  This was very much my favorite part of the park.

The start of the Homosassa river was located on the grounds of the park, a lovely spring which turned the waters all shades of blue and green and kept the water temperatures at 72 degrees (22 degrees Celsius) year round.

Of course, the park's most notable residents were found in the spring... the manatees.  These manatees were non-releasable, and so could not swim out of their paddock, but plenty of their wild relatives can be seen in the lower river and near-by Crystal River, especially during the winter.

Not all of the wildlife was there to be rehabilitated.  Some of them were just there to pick up some free food.  This Great Blue Heron joined the pelicans for feeding time, and then promptly flew off.

There were almost hourly talks being given at various spots in the park, so there was always something to check out.  For the most part, the talks were interesting and informative, and tended to coincide with feeding time for that particular animal.  My one regret was the very last talk we went to, where the presenter didn't show proper respect for the baby alligator he was handling.  That was very distressing to watch, but may be a bug for that particular presenter and not the others as a whole.

So, if you're looking for a place to go hiking and possibly get a glimpse of animals in the wild, Homosassa may not be the place for you. But if you're in the mood for a zoo-like atmosphere and a chance to see some of the native animals up close and personal, this is a good place to go.

Florida Caverns State Park

Today we went to visit the Florida Cavern State Park.  It is home to one of the only "tour caves" in the Florida.  To be honest, after being at Carlsbad, I was not expecting much.  Perhaps a small cave with one or two formation.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I got though.  The tour lasted ~45 minutes more or less, and we went through at least 6 "rooms".  In each was a wide array of formations, all the ones I love...  Columns, draperies, soda straws, etc. 

The waterfall room

Some draperies in the entrance room

The caves themselves were full of interesting reminders of Florida's geological history.  The ceilings in most of the rooms boosted tons of fossils; mostly clam shells, but our guide pointed out a shark tooth and a nautiliod shell.

Sea urchin test and clam shell on the cave ceilings

We also were lucky enough to see some cave life, including a bat.  After the cave tour there was still plenty to see, so we went off on one of the most recommended hikes, the flood plain/ tunnel trail.  It was interesting to see the different habitats in the area.  Just outside the cave exit, the cool cave air allowed for these liverworts and mosses the thrive.

A snail active at noon, made possible by cool air blowing out of the cave

There were pockets of limestone and mini cave openings everywhere, but the flatter parts (the flood plains) had all the hallmarks of a cypress swamp.  There were columbine plants everywhere, and I made a resolution to come back in the spring to see all the wildflowers blooming.  From the pictures in the visitor center, it looks amazing!

On the bluffs, it's all hardwood forest

There was also a lot of wildlife.   Being Florida, a lot of it was bugs.  We saw beetles, golden orb weaver spiders, golden silk spider (BIG), spiny orb weavers, and a new one for me, harvestman.  As a matter of fact, when I stopped to take a picture of a beetle, a cool-looking true bug landed on me.  There were tons of butterflies near the flower field in front of the visitor center.  I counted at least four different species in five minutes.

Harvestman

There was also some reptiles out and about, including a bunch of five-lined skink young.  There were a couple of adults out as well, but they aren't as colorful.

This little one caught a bug

All and all a must see stop in the North Florida region... Like most state parks, getting in is fairly reasonable, $5.00 for a car of up to 8.  The cave tour itself costs extra, but at $8.00 for an adult, it is still pretty modest.  I will be going back again, for sure!