Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve
If I could pick one place to go back to (okay, besides Magic Kingdom, which is my absolute favourite place in the entire world!), it would be the Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve located in St. Cloud, Florida. It was about a 30 minute drive from the second resort we stayed at. The nature preserve covers about 950 acres and is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. As mentioned on Waymarking.com, the site is perfect for hiking, horseback riding and just watching nature in general (particularly birds!).
Before I go further, I should give some background…
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was younger (my dad’s mother & father). I’ve mentioned before that I get my love of baking from my grandma. As my dad says, I could probably make her apple pie blind-folded. I was very, very close with her. I was also quite close with my grandpa, too. When I was 10, we went to England together for an entire summer (it was the summer after my grandma had passed away), we would go on drives together on Friday night, go fishing when we were in Florida and in general, just hang out together. He loved bird watching. While I’ve never done much bird watching, I always enjoyed looking at the books he had. I never got a chance to go bird watching with him and it is something I wish I could have done. Flash forward to now. One of my very dear friends is an avid bird watcher. Her father, who just passed away a few months ago, was also an avid bird watcher. At his funeral, I learned about birding watching life lists, and the number of birds he saw was just amazing! I realized the passion my friend had for birdwatching and where she got it from. I really started to respect and admire this passion of her’s even more. It also reminded me that my grandfather had enjoyed bird watching. While I don’t know if he made a list of the birds he saw, I still know he loved birds.
Very cool bird poster at the Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve. Quite faded from the sun!
When I found out about the Lake Lizzie Preserve and that it was part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, I decided that would be my beginning to bird watching. I would take notes, pictures (as best I could with my camera; I don’t have a telephoto lens…yet), and in general, just pay more attention to the sounds of nature and be more aware of what surrounds me. I also feel that bird watching gives me another connection to my grandfather, much like baking gives me a strong connection to my grandma. Even though he is not hear anymore, I find comfort in doing something that he enjoyed. I also hope it is something my friend and I can do together when she visits. I feel like I can learn a lot from her. She’s already helped me identify a few birds we saw in Florida.
Onto the trail itself…
On to the main trail...
There are two main trails. One is three miles long and we did part of that one. While hiking a long this trail, we heard lots of different birds. I saw a woodpecker and a few other birds. The other smaller trail is called the Marsh Loop and it is one mile in length. While we didn’t see any birds, we certainly heard quite a few. There were so many different environments at this preserve: marsh, swamp, forest, grassland, etc. It was amazing! While at the preserve, I also started my list of birds. While it is small, I’m happy to have started it. It’s very basic and I definitely need my friend’s help in improving it. Here it is:
- Woodpecker (do not know which species)
- Hawk or Eagle (do not know which species)
- Mockingbird
A great shot of the trail. It was a beautiful day.
Spanish Moss is quite prominent in Florida. Yes, I am quite fascinated with it 
The preserve was beautiful. Jeremy and I went on a day when the weather was perfect for hiking. We were the only ones there and it was just so peaceful. We enjoy going on walks and hikes together. We always have. This time, I felt like both of us took in more of what was around us on this hike. It was awesome! Hence the reason we both want to go back. Next time we go back, we’re definitely going to do the entire three miles (six miles in total). I am very much looking forward to it! I certainly hope I’ve got my telephoto lens by that time, too. I can say I enjoyed bird watching and I’m looking forward to learning more about it, through my own reading and from my friend. It was relaxing and I loved that I was doing something my grandfather enjoyed. While I wish I could have enjoyed it with him while he was still here, I still feel quite a connection to him when doing this. My grandpa taught me to fish when I was eight. Him and I went fishing all the time in Florida. I always feel very calm when I fish because it reminds me of him and I have such good memories of it. I found when I went bird watching, I had the same feeling of calm. It was great!
We were in a grassy area of the Marsh Loop trail when we took this picture.
I am very much looking forward to heading back to this nature preserve. Next time though, I will have a better camera. Oh, and a pair of binoculars. Also, I’m hoping I will have my grandfather’s bird book with me, too. 
Namaste,
~Mary~
