DELAND AREA 



The best areas for birding in our territory are: 



1. Eagles' nests — (Note: Please keep away from eagles' 

 nests until after young are well fledged. Otherwise parents 

 may desert nest and young. Local inquiry suggested.) 



Buena Vista Avenue in DeBary. Has been occupied lately. 



2. Many Florida (Scrub) Jays and Rufous-sided Tow- 

 hees may be seen at Enterprise Cemetery on Orange City- 

 Enterprise Road. The jays are friendly and can be fed 

 from hand. 



3. Swallow- tailed Kites — ^Alexander Springs — Take road 

 west from Barberville towards Astor Bridge and follow 

 signs to springs. It is better to call before going since on 

 many days birds are not there. Late spring and summer only. 



4. Osteen Swamps — Many wading birds can be seen 

 here. Go east from Sanford on road to New Smyrna Beach 

 and park car just after crossing bridge over St. John's 

 River. 



5. Ponce de Leon Inlet — A variety of shore birds can 

 be seen at inlet, particularly at low tide. Take Route 44 to 

 New Smyrna Beach, pass over North Bridge and go to 

 Life Guard Station a few miles north of Flagler Ave. 

 Park car at station and walk along beach to inlet. 



PONCE DE LEON SPRINGS— Eight miles north of 

 DeLand just off U. S. Highway 17 is a delightful place to 

 visit. There is a small admission charge. Historically, the 

 Spring was discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513. The 

 Indians considered the healing spring a gift of the Great 

 Spirit and brought their sick and wounded here for treat- 

 ment. It is one of the finest natural beauty spwts in Florida. 

 Here one may swim in the "Fountain of Youth," observe 

 birds and other natural history features along the Audubon 

 Trail through a central Florida jungle, visit a 1570 sugar 

 mill and an ancient Indian Burial Mound and see a 2700 

 year old Bald Cypress. Thousands of Azaleas reach their 

 peak of bloom in March and April. 



Paul E. Harris 



GAINESVILLE AREA 



The Gainesville region is fortunate in the number of 

 swamps, marshes, lakes and wet prairies, that occur within 

 its limits and which, as either feeding or nesting grounds, 

 attract spectacularly beautiful wading birds. There follows 

 an annotated list of the more important of these localities. 



LAKE ALICE — This unique locality supports what is 

 probably the only many-S{>ecies rookery of water birds located 

 within the campus limits of any university anywhere. It 

 comprises ninety acres of water and swamp just west of 

 Stadium Road at the University of Florida. It is surrounded 

 by fields of the University farms and the dormitory grounds. 

 Lake AHce has been a wildlife sanctuary since the 1930's 

 and since 1962 cooperative between the Florida Audubon 

 Society and the University. 



There are broad expanses of marsh plants in the shallower 

 parts of the lake, while thickets of willow, maple and But- 

 tonbush provide cover. Alligators are present too. 



A total of more th^n 200 species of birds has been 

 recorded at Lake Alice. During the breeding season the 

 small swamp at the northeastern end of the lake becomes 

 fantastically colorful and noisy. In good seasons, thousands 

 of pairs of White and Glossy Ibises, Snowy and Cattle 

 Egrets, Little Blue, Louisiana, and Green, Herons, build 

 their nests of sticks in the low trees. Others of the more 

 conspicuous birds comprise rails, coots, gallinules, ducks, 

 Anhingas, Boat-tailed Grackles, hawks, and the Bald Eagle. 

 Alligators of many sizes, and several species of snakes, frogs, 

 and turtles, are also found here. The Swamp Rabbit is a 

 conspicuous mammal. 'Since shooting has been prohibited 

 for some 25 years, and since the activities of the University 

 farms are carried on in lands surrounding the lake, the 

 birds have become accustomed to man, and it is possible 

 to stand a few feet away from a tree in which several pairs 

 are nesting, and observe the whole process of courtship, 

 nest construction, and feeding of the young. 



PAYNES PRAIRIE— This is the Great Alachua Sa- 

 vanna of colonial days. It is a broad marsh, roughly two 

 miles wide and seven miles long, located four miles south 

 of Gainesville. A vivid description of the Prairie in 1774 

 is given in Bartram's Travels. Then, as now, Maiden Cane 

 or Panic Grass furnished the main forage for great numbers 



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CLARENCE R. BERGQUIST 



The Wood Ibis, an endangered species, is being helped toward recovery by the establishment of suitable sanctuaries. 



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