Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Basic information and photos to help you identify specific plants, wildflowers, trees, birds, and wildlife in Florida.
The largest of the white-colored wading birds in Florida, the great egret is frequently seen in wetlands areas and along waterways.
Green herons look very much like the American Bittern from a distance. But the way they hold their neck and the iridescent green of the feathers on their backs help make them easy to identify.
Epidendrum conopseum
Gulf Coast lupine (Lupinus westianus) is a threatened species found in sandhill/clayhill habitats in the far western corner of Florida.
Chestnut-brown with white spots, the limpkin has a curved beak much like an ibis. It is one of Florida’s more rare birds, and has been listed on the protected species list. Its diet consists mostly of the apple snail.
Few wading birds sound genuinely upset when you walk past them, but the little blue heron sure kicks up a fuss – and usually moves away quickly, no matter how softly you walk.
The tallest of Florida’s pines, longleaf pine also has the longest needles, more than a foot long. Favored for lumber, most of the longleaf pine forests of the Southeast have been logged, but you can still immerse in impressive longleaf pine stands on Florida’s trails.
A distinctive white-bellied blue heron, the Louisiana heron is also known as the tricolored heron.
A night bloomer that begins to close as daylight arrives, moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is commonly seen around Lake Okeechobee and throughout the Big Cypress as a draping vine cascading over trees and shrubs.
One of the noisiest residents of the marsh, the moorhen – also known as the common gallinule or marsh hen – has a distinctive red beak compared to their cousins the coots.
A dabbling duck, the mottled duck floats along the surface of the water and daintily dabs its bill into the water to feed, or tips over to reach vegetation at the bottom.
The osprey is a large black and white raptor, up to two feet tall and with a six-foot wingspan. It dives for fish and is found near freshwater and saltwater habitats.
