Payne's Prairie, a state recreation area just south of Gainesville, Florida, is a bird watcher's paradise with plenty of other critters such as alligators, snakes, wild horses and bison. The prairie encompasses 25 square miles and is easily accessible from US 441 and several hiking trails. The paved Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail also runs through, so you can get there by car, foot, bike or skate!
The prairie is ever changing depending on the season, the weather, and especially the rains. In 2004 -- the year of the hurricanes -- it became an aquatic wonderland with the birds and alligators roaming across the underwater prairie. Since then, the water has slowly receded. In 2006 we were able to kayak on the prairie, but now the prairie is mostly dry. On one of our hikes this winter, we saw over 100 alligators and accidentally walked up on a cotton mouth snake. Four of the alligators were on our trail, so we had to do some quick side stepping. Thousands of noisy sandhill cranes spent the winter at Paynes Prairie this year, as well as flocks of white pelicans and wood storks. Take a look at some of E.B.'s pictures and you'll see lots of birds!
