One of the best opportunities city-living birders have to view Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in west central Florida is in one of Florida’s newest Global Important Bird Areas: the Croom and Citrus tracts of Withlacoochee State Forest. Birders and Audubon members in the region know it well not only for the federally-listed woodpecker but also for Bachman’s Sparrows, Southeastern Kestrel, and the many other birds and flowering plants that reside in healthy longleaf pine sandhill habitat.

Visitor access is easy: the Florida Trail loops through both tracts of the forest in Hernando and Citrus counties providing foot trails for hikers, overnight backpackers, birders, and hunters during the winter months. There are also trails designated especially for “mountain” bikers and equestrians. Despite the popularity, the forest remains relatively quiet for the wildlife and for wildlife-viewing except for the occasional recreational event which may draw in a hundred or more people for the day.

Congratulations are in order for Withlacoochee State Forest land managers and biologists who worked for years to restore longleaf pine forest block by block with prescribed burning so that a self-sustaining population of more than 85 Red-cockaded Woodpecker family groups would once again call the forest home.

Hernando Audubon Society chapter members have partnered with forest managers for years to help with projects such as monitoring and banding the woodpeckers during and after reintroduction periods. We here at Audubon Florida recognize the value of the chapter’s many years of dedicated stewardship to the birdlife of Withlacoochee State Forest.

Thank you, Hernando Audubon, for helping to ensure the forest remains healthy for future generations of visitors and wildlife!

To read more about the Withlacoochee State Forest Global Important Bird Area, please click here.