Great Florida Birding Trail site Description: Footpaths and boardwalks lead visitors around restored tidal lagoons and mangrove shoreline. This site is part of a larger program to restore portions of the mangrove shoreline that once fringed much of Sarasota Bay.
Watchable wildlife: At high tide, the tidal lagoons attract blue crabs, whelks, conchs, ragged sea hares, and many fish. Low tide brings fiddler crabs and many wading birds, including great white herons, little blue herons, tricolored herons, black-crowned and yellow-crowned night herons, snowy egrets, and glossy and white ibis. Magnificent frigatebirds are common in the summer, and brown pelicans and osprey can be seen year-round.
Ownership: Manatee County Contact: (941) 742-5923
Directions: In Bradenton, take Interstate 75 to exit 42, drive west 13 miles on Florida Highway 64 to Anna Maria Island. Drive south 3.5 miles on Gulf of Mexico Drive (Florida 789). The site entrance is on the left (east) side of the road.
Related Sites: Other West Central Florida Wildlife Sites Florida State Parks | |