Photos by Donna

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On a tip from a fellow blogger (thanks, Wally!), I researched the Babcock/Webb Wildlife Management Area in Punta Gorda, about 30 miles south from where we were camping last month.

With more than 65,000 acres of intermixed pine flatwoods and freshwater marsh, along with hardwood hammocks and dry prairie, I found Babcock/Webb WMA had plenty to offer!

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Great Blue Heron “With A View”

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I was most excited in hopes of seeing and photographing the federally listed endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker that lived in clusters 4-5 miles deep within.  Accessed by one of the dirt roads, their cavity trees are clearly marked with white-painted rings to easily locate them for quiet observations.

Alas, I was not lucky.  Controlled hunting season had just started five days prior, and I found the start of that access road closed to visitors.

I was still able to drive on a paved road along the freshwater lake and marshes for its five-mile length and back.

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Babcock/Webb WMA

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Here’s what I did get to enjoy and photograph.  🙂

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Tricolored Heron

Northern Mockingbird

Osprey

Hairy Woodpecker

Tricolored Heron

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker

Turkey Vulture

White Peacock

Great Egret

Little Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

American Alligator

Sandhill Cranes

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“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”  –Vincent Van Gogh

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