HCFNPS's January speaker Jim King (Jim is Hernando County Environmentally Sensitive Land [ESL] Manager) my wife Linda and I decided to check out ESL's Cypress Lakes Preserve near Ridge Manor on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Cypress Lakes Preserve consists of 330 acres of mesic hammock, cypress swamp, fresh water marshes, and scattered upland areas of sand hill and scrub.Some of the Cypress trees were large, and I suspect, quite old. None were very tall though, probably due to summer lightning and the hurricanes which periodically sweep through Florida. The cypress swamp habitat is spooky, all kinds of strange shaped sculpted forms and "knees". Very few other plant species grow in this habitat, perhaps due to the acidic needles which are shed every fall.
The day was sunny but cool, perfect hiking weather. We spent approximately 3 hours walking along the newly blazed trails. Despite not having been in this portion of the preserve before, the orange blazes kept us from getting lost. Not many flowers in bloom this time of year. We did see Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) blossoms scattered on the forest floor, dropped from vines high in the trees. Also, mats of white-flowered Innocence (Hedyotis procumbens) were frequent along the trails (see photo to right).
Since it is an El Nino year there has been lots of rain and the epiphytes, which include resurrection fern (Polypodium polypodioides), moss, lichens and occasional Gree
n Fly orchids, covered the large live oaks limbs in an attractive green mantel, creating a "fairytale" like setting (see epiphytes in picture to right).Lots of birds were present, we spotted chickadees, a blue-gray gnat catcher, hermit thrush, eastern towhee, red-bellied, pileated, and hairy wood peckers, red shouldered hawk and various warblers. My favorite was the orange flanked eastern towhee scouting around near the ground hunting insects. The birds seemed especially abundant along the upland areas.
On crossing the
new bridge built by Mitch Almond's crew from Florida Trail, we inadvertently set a pair of wood ducks to flight. Wood ducks are shy and it is rare to get them to "sit still" so you can observe them. Sometimes, sneaking up on them works, but since we didn't know they were there in the first place, we were not secretive enough.If you go, take Highway 50 east toward Ridge Manor. Just after crossing the river take the first left toward the fire station. You can park in back of the fire station after taking the short road into the Preserve by the sign. You will also see a brown building with a metal roof.
One small drawback: We saw no operational restrooms as yet, but there are lots of trees.
The preserve is an attractive resource, available free to all. So by all means, if you have good weather and the time, come out to this piece of "Wild" Florida right here in Hernando County.
Bruce Vanderveen
