Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area

Over the past month I have been able to spend a handful of days at Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area in Ocala National Forest for both work and recreational birding. Juniper Prairie is about 14,000 acres of recently burned sand pine habitat where charred snags dominate the landscape.  There is a large concentration of Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers, Red-bellied, and Hairy Woodpeckers also take advantage of the snags.  Keep in mind this area has the “wilderness area” designation and no motor vehicles are allowed in.  There are a number of excellent birding trails however, that can get you deep into the scrub, in addition to a visitor center where you can go swimming in the spring or kayak.  I really love working at Juniper Prairie, but unfortunately I have lost my point-and-shoot camera to the Florida scrub, and I don’t take my DSLR because of the hike in to our study area; so, I don’t have many photos to share for this post.  However, I did take this single picture earlier in the season while birding the prairie.

Snags at Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area, Ocala National Forest; yea, there are more than a few….

 

Southeastern American Kestrel (female pictured) can also be found at Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area