Animals at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

Lulu, the hippo, lives there. I caught her in a big yawn.

Lots of alligators there. It's fun to hear the gasps of little kids who see these animals up close. Especially with those teeth. I think he's looking right at me.

There are two river otters but only the one was swimming around while we were there.

Lots of wild wood ducks live at the park. The male is the beautiful one in the front. The female is in the back with a bored look on her face.

There were several wild great blue herons working on nests high over the alligator enclosure.

These are the permanent residents at the park being fed.

Now that it has warmed up the wild manatees are heading out into other areas. There were very few hanging around inside the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park when we were there a couple of weekends ago. The park opens the gates to let the wild manatees into the warmer water of the river during the severe cold tempatures (severe by Florida standards). When hubby and I were there in mid January the river was full of them. Now there's just a few straglers. Most are heading out into other rivers, the intercoastal waterway and upper Tampa bay. There are lots of other animals at the park and a lot of wildlife that hangs around as well. 

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Thirty minutes with a sandhill crane baby

Mom, I'm bored.

Oooo, that's a scary looking bug.

Mom, come this way.

Mom, I don't see it!

Mom, don't push me out of the way.

I'm a big girl now.

I feel like I usually don't get this lucky. A couple of weekends ago, on my trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park with my sister, a sandhill crane baby had been born a few days before. A volunteer told me the parents are 3rd generation cranes that were born at the park from a permanently injured crane that lived there years ago. A wild mate found the resident crane and took up residence with it. The ones born since then can come and go but usually stay. This little baby was so cute and curious. It was running around looking at everything but not straying too far from the parents. Sandhill cranes are born in a nest low on the ground instead of in a tree. Unlike smaller birds who have to spend many weeks growing up in the nest first, the sandhill crane baby is usually mobile within a day or two of being born. The parents start grazing and are on the move within the first day. I must have walked around the big bird enclosure for at least 30 minutes. Finally, I had to run off and find my sister who had long moved on.

Birds at Homosassa Springs

A volunteer was feeding the pelicans.

The above pelican had that "Don't come near my nest." look on it's face.

There are 3 permanently injured eagles that live at the park.

Lot's of wild storks come in to get a free handout.

We found a lot of wood ducks swimming around the river near the manatees.

Sandhill crane taking a nap. A volunteer told me that years ago they had a sandhill crane that had been hurt brought to the park for rehabilitation. The crane ended up staying and attracking a wild mate. They had babies and there is now 3 generations of sandhills that live at the park. They could leave anytime they want but they still hang around all year.

How often do you see a red shouldered hawk (left) and red tailed hawk (right) sitting together on a branch? The red tailed was missing a wing.

Besides manatees, the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park has lots of birds. Both wild and rehabilitating permanent residents. You can get really close up to some of them. There's a lagoon in the middle that has flamingos, both white and brown pelicans, storks, swans and sandhill cranes that all hang out together. The brown pelicans were working on their nests while we were there so soon there will be babies to view up close. On a visit last spring I saw a handful of baby swans. There are a lot of volunteers at the park that can answer any questions and told me all kinds of good stories about the birds there. You can also find a lot of wild birds in the park. We saw pileated woodpeckers and warblers as well. I think I'm going to head back in early spring to see any babies that are at the park.

Under water at Homosassa Springs

It's all about the manatees at Homosassa Springs Park.

Upclose manatees swimming by.

My husband was impressed by all of the snook and how well you could see them.

Large groups of manatees huddled together for warmth.

You could see the tail damage on the above. Almost all of the manatees have boat marks on them.

Mom & baby hanging close together.

This manatee was in the hospital tank there.

It's amazing how clear the water is at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. My husband had never been there and I had gone with my family several times when I was growing up so I wanted to bring him there to see it. It was sunny several weekends ago but we had underestimated how much colder it would be an hour north of Tampa. The park had opened the spring gates to let the wild manatees in to the more shallow warmer water. The river was full of them. Walking over the main bridge across the river gives you a chance to see them swimming right underneath you. There's also an observation deck over the deeper part of the river. Tour boats anchor in front of the deck and people get in the water in wet suits and swim with the manatees.

Winter is the best time to visit the park. I stopped by there in late May and the deer flies were biting so bad that no amount of deet was stopping them. Besides the manatees, they also have other animals that have found homes here: otters, alligators, bears, red wolves and tons of birds. But more on the birds later.

Yes, it's baby swan season.

A recent trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park produced another beautiful swan family. There were 3 siblings in all. They were so graceful following mom up and down the skinny river that runs through the park. Right before I left, I checked on them and they had plopped down for an afternoon nap. I'm now on a quest to get some pictures of baby swans when they are a little older to watch them grow up.

Manatees at Homosassa Springs

A great place to see manatees up close is Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. The water is crystal clear. There are several manatees that live at the park. There's an observation deck that you can walk around over the water and see the manatees swimming by. The water there stays warm all year round so I'll have to go back in the winter. There's a boardwalk over the river that runs outside the park where the wild manatees congregate in the winter. I've heard you can see hundreds of them huddled together. Mullet fish were jumping non-stop. We only get an occasional jump in the channel behind our house. Here they were jumping constantly. I finally got a picture of one in mid-air.

Birds at Homosassa Springs

Male wood duck with reflection.

Great egret missing a foot. He must be a permanent resident.

Great blue heron looking for food.

Pileated woodpecker high up in the tree.

Last weekend I took a trip up north (north of Hillsborough county) to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. I had not been there in at least 25 years. When I was younger growing up in Birmingham, my family used to drive down to visit my grandparents and we always stopped here for a rest. The front entrance building looks exactly the same. I didn't remember much about the inside of the park. It's a small park but there's tons of wildlife. There's a river that runs through most of the park with birds everywhere. There's permanently injured residents as well as wild birds that stop by for food. It's also a great place to see manatees up close. I have pictures of those coming up later.