Now that the summer is upon us and the weather is getting hot, a favorite location for us to visit is Highlands Hammock State Park just outside Sebring. Like many other parks in Florida, it has a diversified habitat. The park transitions from a dry, primitive area with scrub oaks and pine trees to a deep woodland swamp with huge cypress trees. In between is an area called the hammock which is covered with large hardwood trees.
Our favorites are the primitive and swamp areas. On this occasion, we didn’t make it to the swamp because there was so much activity in the primitive area. Highlands Hammock is known for having a population of Florida scrub jays, which are endangered. We were fortunate to find the jays. This time of year, the red-headed woodpeckers, northern flickers, and eastern towhees return to nest. We often see great horned owls, bobwhite quail, eastern bluebirds, American kestrels, and other woodpeckers.
You can learn more about Highlands Hammock at the link below.
