I made a trip to Lake County on a recent Sunday morning to try birding in a new location, the Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area.
It’s located north of Leesburg and Tavares near Lake Griffin. I had heard you could drive through the conservation area but, unfortunately for me, that road is only open from February to May. So I did a bit of walking on the closed-to-cars interpretive road and then visited the marsh’s nearby boat ramp. I found a nice variety of birds in both locations, including some species I had not seen in a while.
This included a Carolina Chickadee, the first I have ever seen in Florida. Other highlights included a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (one of my favorite “odd” names for a bird) and a bright yellow Prairie Warbler.
I definitely will visit Emeralda Marsh again, especially once the drive portion is open.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Carolina Chickadee, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Carolina Chickadee, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Prairie Warbler, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Common Yellowthroat, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.Swamp Sparrow, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area in Lake County, October 2025.
The other day I realized I was approaching 100 different birds photographed. After a recount, it turned out I was very, very close – just one bird away from the century mark.
The first thing that came to my mind when seeing them was how prehistoric they look, like some character out of one of the Jurassic Park franchise movies.
