Enjoy The Wildlife At St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge
If you are into the wildlife scene, St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge is a nice place to visit. It is located in Franklin County, Florida, off of the opening of the Apalachicola River, in the Gulf of Mexico. Since St. Vincent is a barrier island, you can only get to the wildlife refuge by boat. The Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce can provide a list of boat transportation vendors that can assist with this.
The wildlife’s natural environmental atmosphere includes plants and animals. Also dwelling there are tidal marsh, freshwater lakes and streams, dune, scrub oaks, cabbage palm and different types of slash pine communities. Birds that migrate make a stop here and it is also home to endangered species, such as sea turtles, bald eagles, indigo snakes and gopher tortoises. Wood storks come and stay for awhile and then leave. Endangered red wolves breed their offspring here as well. There used to be plenty of red wolves in number, but plans were put in place to control the population and eliminate them, they became less in number.
You are allowed to fish here, but only in refuge lakes. During the nesting season, the lakes are close to preserve the bald eagles. Prior to fishing, check regulations to see if you can fish. Surf fishing is allowed all year round, with the exception of where the birds are. You can hunt white-tailed deer in parts of the refuge. You can also hunt for feral pig and sambar deer. You must have a valid hunting permit to do so. You can check to see what the requirements are.
Refuge roads allow for hiking and wildlife observation. The roads are marked by letters and numbers. The North-South roads are marked by numbers; the East-West roads are marked by letters. On the Gulf Beaches, you are allowed to do shelling. At the Visitor Center, there are exhibits and in October and May, interpretative tours are offered. There are also educational programs available for schools, colleges, universities, clubs and other groups. You can contact the refuge for additional information.
During the different seasons, different animals are nesting and producing their offspring. This process consists of three month intervals, including each of the four seasons.
In the spring season, which is from March to May, soft-shell turtles produce eggs in the sand roads; ospreys use the dead snags in freshwater lakes to do their nesting; The nest boxes are where the wood ducks can be found; dropping antlers are what white-tailed deer bucks are doing during this time; and young eagles are learning how to fly.
In the summer season, which is from June to August, velvet is in for white-tailed bucks; strolling through as wood storks, the beaches have company in the form of American oystercatchers and snowy plovers, in the marshes; the female alligators are the protectors of their nests; and loggerhead sea turtles are producing their offspring on the beaches.
In the fall season, which is from September to November, you may spot some peregrine falcons; polishing their antlers are white-tailed bucks getting sexually charged; and migrating time has approached fro waterfowl, songbirds and shorebirds.
In the winter season, which is from December to February, you can find alligators soaking in the sun, provided it’s warm weather; the nesting period begins for great homed owls and bald eagles; and its peak season for the increase of waterfowl.
The wildlife refuge is open every day from sunrise to sunset. The only exception to this is during the hunting, wildfire or burning season. The wildlife refuge takes pride in the environment, conservation and the preserving of wildlife animals.