St Marks-Bottoms Road Field Trip

Citrus County Audubon Society has scheduled a birding field trip at Bottoms Road-St Marks in the Panacea-Newport area for Thursday, January 10, 2013. The public is welcome to attend. Preregistration is not necessary and participants with all levels of birding skills are welcome.

This field trip is led by CCAS members Fred Hileman and Tom Gulley. Meet at the Inn at Wildwood parking lot, 3896 U.S. 98 Crawfordville, FL 32327. The field trip begins at 7:30 am, will be easy walking and will last about 6-7 hours. Due to the distance, most birders will travel up the night before.

Established in 1931, St. Marks is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Its 68,000 acres provides wintering habitat for migratory birds. Uplands forests, forested swamps, fresh & brackish water marshes and a pristine salt water estuary ecosystem make it a favorite for birders.

Some of the unusual birds we hope to see include: Seaside & Nelson’s sharp-tailed Sparrows, Mallard, Marsh And Sedge Wrens, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Bufflehead, And Ruddy Ducks, Horned Grebe, Virginia and Black Rails, Snow Geese, Sora, and White-breasted Nuthatch.