Tiger Creek Preserve in Polk County earns spot on Great Florida Wildlife and Birding Trail
Nature enthusiasts in Polk County would be excused for assuming that the latest addition to the Great Florida Wildlife and Birding Trail was already on the list.
The manager of Tiger Creek Preserve describes it as “a hidden treasure.” The nearly 5,000-acre tract in southeast Polk County now might attain increased visibility with its addition to the state inventory.
The property near Babson Park, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, is among 14 sites newly designated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“I’ve been pushing to have this happen for a while,” said Cheryl Millett, preserve manager for the site. “I’m delighted that we’re on map of the Great Florida Wildlife and Birding Trail.”
What is the trail?
The FWC started the program — initially dedicated solely to birdwatching sites — in 2000. The agency now lists more than 500 locations ranging from Escambia County to Monroe County.
The state promotes trail stops with road signs featuring an image of a swallow-tailed kite in flight.
The FWC held open nominations for new sites between October and February, judging candidates on four criteria: unique wildlife viewing opportunities and ecological significance, educational opportunities, access for the public and resilience to recreational use.
Polk’s newest site
The Nature Conservancy began purchasing land for Tiger Creek Preserve in 1971. It is now one of the largest natural areas in Polk County open to the public.
Perched along the Lake Wales Ridge, the tract contains varied topography and a mixture of habitats, including hardwood swamps, hammocks, scrubby flatwoods, pine flatwoods, sandhill and longleaf pine. The namesake creek, a narrow stream with copper-hued water, meanders through the property.
Millett, who has worked at Tiger Creek Preserve since 2005, rattles off a long list of wildlife she has seen over the years. The staff documented three bald eagle nests last winter that produced young, two of them easily visible from trails, and swallow-tailed kites have also nested recently.
Northern Bobwhite quail, ground birds that have become increasingly scarce in Florida, are abundant at Tiger Creek. Woodpeckers, including the elusive redheaded variety, thrive in the preserve, hunting in dead trees on former swampland turned open marsh.
Wild turkeys and sandhill cranes frequent the property, which also draws a range of songbirds and winter migrants.
As for other wildlife, Millett said she recently spotted tracks from a Florida back bear that has been a regular presence. Deer, bobcats and gopher tortoises live on the preserve, and otters can be seen swimming in Tiger Creek.
Though the trail designation recognizes animals, Tiger Creek also attracts visitors for its wildflowers, which reach peak bloom in October and November. The yellow flowers of partridge pea and the purples of blazing star are now emerging, Millett said, and such plants as goldenrod, Florida paintbrush and bachelor’s buttons are soon to follow.
“It is a hidden treasure,” Millett said. “For people in Lakeland, it’s a bit of a drive, but it's well worth the drive. You go into what Florida used to look like as you come out here, driving down the hill through the orange grove to get to our entrance at Pfundstein Road.”
She added: “You are going to climb up some hills and down some hills as you're here. And so it's like coming around the corner and finding something new around every bend.”
Tiger Creek is open daily from sunrise to sunset, with no admission fee. Trails are accessible from entrances at Pfundstein Road to the south and Wakeford Road to the east.
Close encounter Florida black bear ambles into Lake Wales, climbs a tree before departing
The preserve regularly offers guided hikes, buggy tours and other events. Details and reservations can be found through Eventbrite.com.
Other new listings
Here are the other 13 sites newly added to the Great Florida Wildlife and Birding Trail:
Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville, a human-made facility for water filtering with more than 125 acres of wetlands and ponds.
Oyster Bar Marsh Conservation Area in Vero Beach, a newly-opened site with a trail through mangrove habitat affording views of the Indian River Lagoon.
Lafayette Heritage Trail Park in Tallahassee, set along Lake Piney Z with access to seven earthen walkways extending the lake.
Robinson Preserve in Bradenton, a popular recreation area that attracts wading birds, shore birds and migratory songbirds.
Ocala Wetland Recharge Park in Marion County, a water recharge area whose ponds and marshes draw such birds as purple gallinules, roseate spoonbills and black-necked stilts.
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, a 120-acre site at the confluence of the Indian River Lagoon and the Loxahatchee River that ranges from hardwood hammock to mangrove swamp.
Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter Farms, home to 217 animal species and more than 500 plant species.
North Jupiter Flatwoods in Palm Beach County, a 163-acre site that serves as a migratory waypoint for songbirds in fall and spring.
Pine Glades Natural Area in Jupiter, a 6,651-acre reserve providing habitat for wading birds as well as Northern Bobwhite quail and Eastern meadowlarks.
Winding Waters Natural Area in West Palm Beach, an urban refuge that combines freshwater wetlands, cypress swamps and slash pine forests.
Yamato Scrub Natural Area, a 217-acre reserve in Boca Raton that provides a resting area for warblers and other migratory birds traveling along the coast in the spring and fall.
Robert B. Hayling Freedom Park in St. Augustine, a peninsular site offering 13 acres of uplands surrounded by hundreds of acres of salt marsh.
Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area, near Eglin Air Force Base in Milton, a reserve that contains sandhill habitat along with pine flatwoods, cypress swamp, coastal marsh and bayside beaches
Also in Polk County
Here are the existing sites on the trail in Polk County:
Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland
Lake Hollingsworth Trail, Lakeland
Saddle Creek Park, Lakeland
Tenoroc Public Use Area, Lakeland
Colt Creek State Park, north of Lakeland
Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales
Lake Kissimmee State Park, Lake Wales
Lake Wailes Park, Lake Wales
Ridge Audubon’s Nature Center, Lake Wales
The Lake Wales Ridge State Park’s Arbuckle and Walk-in-the-Water Tracts in Lake Wales
Mosaic Peace River Park in Fort Meade
Lake Region Audubon Street Nature Center in Winter Haven.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Tiger Creek in Polk County joins Florida Wildlife and Birding Trail
