Menunkatuck Members - Florida Bound?
Part 2

Birders heading for Orlando or Daytona Beach, Florida have two quite interesting habitats to visit in west Volusia County, Lyonia Preserve and Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. At Lyonia Preserve Florida scrub jays are an almost guaranteed species. Lake Woodruff is excellent for raptors, herons, wintering ducks, limpkin, and nesting bald eagles and sandhill cranes. Alligators are abundant.

The Florida Scrub Jay is a 12-inch long crestless blue and gray jay. Extremely gregarious (they will readily perch on the heads of human visitors), they are a threatened species because of habitat destruction. Lyonia Preserve is being restored to scrub habitat for the jays.

The Preserve is in Deltona, about 25 miles west of Daytona Beach and 30 miles east of Orlando. It is a 380-acre parcel that Volusia County is restoring from overgrown pine and oak habitat, that limited the movement of most animals, to a valuable scrub plant community similar to that which existed before human intervention. The restoration project began about 12 years ago with the removal of sand pines and oaks, opening the area for scrub plants to grow. In a natural scrub ecosystem, fire maintains the ecosystem and prevents any one plant from dominating. Because the preserve is surrounded by homes and businesses, fire would be unsafe. Therefore, a variety of other methods are used to minimize the regrowth of the sand pines and oaks.

The result is a more diverse area with some pines and scrub oaks and much open area. This open area has meant that Florida scrub jays now find Lyonia Preserve a suitable habitat. Twelve years ago there were no scrub jays in the preserve; now there are around one hundred. The areas that have been opened up are used by the scrub jays for feeding, nesting, and refuge. In the summer the jays gather oak acorns, bury them, and retrieve them during the winter. Other birds that can be seen at the preserve include red-headed woodpeckers, great-horned owls, barred owls, and wood ducks.

Lake Woodruff NWR is near DeLeon Springs, about 15 miles from Deltona. The refuge contains more than 21,500 acres and is comprised of 12,100 acres of freshwater marsh, 5,800 acres of hardwood swamp, 2,400 acres of upland, and more than 1,000 acres of lakes, streams, and canals. The St. Johns River forms the western boundary. Numerous waterways allow you to travel within all of these water bodies. John James Audubon visited this area in 1832. The bird count at the refuge is 215 species.

The Public Use Area of Lake Woodruff includes three impoundments that that are maintained for migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The eight miles of trails along the levees offer views of water birds such as ducks, moorhens and coots, wading birds such as egrets and heron, and shorebirds, including black-necked stilts.

The West Volusia Audubon Society has constructed an observation tower that provides an excellent overview of the refuge. The area around the tower is frequented by black vultures that are reluctant to move for people walking by. Limpkin are almost surely to be seen in the pools beyond the tower. At the far end of the impoundments a trail leads through pine woods with pine warblers and, in winter, American robins.

Other areas of the refuge are accessible only by boat. Canoe rentals are available from nearby DeLeon Springs State Recreation Area.

Lyonia Preserve is behind the Deltona Public Library, 2150 Eustace Ave., Deltona. Take exit 53C (Saxon Blvd.) off of I-4 and travel 3.1 miles east to Providence Blvd. (CR 4155). Turn left and go north 3 miles to Eustace Ave. Turn left again onto Eustace and pull into the parking lot of the Deltona Public Library on the left side of the road. The trailhead is located behind the Library Great Florida Birding Trail signs lead the way to the preserve. The best time to visit Lyonia Preserve is before 10 a.m.

Lake Woodruff is located 25 miles west of Daytona Beach, and 7 miles north of DeLand on U.S. Highway 17 near DeLeon Springs. From Highway 17 in DeLeon Springs, turn west and go one block to Grand Avenue. Turn south on Grand and go approximately 3 blocks to Mud Lake Road. The refuge is sign-posted on both U.S. 17 and Grand Ave. to direct the way to the refuge and headquarters office. Lake Woodruff is best visited in the early morning or late afternoon.

Submitted by Dennis Riordan
Photos by Dennis Riordan