Location: Red Bug Slough Preserve
Trailhead (Google Plus Code): 7GG2+VR South Gate Ridge, Florida
Hike Length: 2 miles
Time Estimate: 1.5 hours
Habitats: Wetlands
Notes: Amazing amount of plant and wildlife for a suburban setting.
- Wetlands Ecosystem – This hike includes access to a wetlands ecosystem.
- Black Vultures – Black vultures have black heads, unlike the turkey vulture’s red head, and have light tips on their black wings if viewed from below.
- Roseate Spoonbills – Famously misidentified as a flamingo, the spoonbills are our local pink wading bird.
- Wildflowers – Look for a wide range of wildflowers here, which change with the seasons.
- Multiple habitats/Ecosystems – This hike will take you through a variety of Florida’s Habitats/Ecosystems.
- Ferns – There is an opportunity to see many fern species here: ressurection fern, golden polypody, sword fern and more.
- Invasive species – As you get to the gulley, notice the sign describing invasive species. In addition to the area offering flora of the dry prairie habitat, the hammock unfortunately has a variety of common invasives.
- Hardwood Hammock Ecosystem – This is a uniquely Florida ecosystem characterized in this area by live oaks and cabbage palms.
