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Crystal River Preserve State Park Photos

Two stately bald eagles perch high in a tree draped with Spanish Moss. They survey their Marsh territory while calm blue skies await their next flight. A curious gray, masked raccoon peers out from the high branches of a persimmon tree where he is caught snacking behind the Park Visitor Center. On a cooler Fall day an eight foot alligator can be seen soaking up the sun while napping along the brackish waters during low tide on the Preserve.
Two Eagles Racoon Large Alligator
A small male diamond backed terrapin nuzzles next to a large female in a tidal pool of young mangroves. These brackish water turtles have spotted faces. A bottled nose dolphin keeping time with the Park tourboat begins a leap out of the water leaving a cascade of frothy foam behind it. Perched on a rocky karst outcropping at the edge of the Crystal River, a Great Blue Heron lends his profile of long legs and beak to the wet, calm scene.
Diamond Back Terrapines Dolphin leaping out of the water Great Blue Heron
A kayak and manatee share the blue-green waters of the Preserve State Park. This rotund gray seacow casts a curious glance up through the water. Located on one of the primitive trails named Dixie Shores, the winding waters that sculpt the Marshes are glimpsed through palms and palmettos. A pond is all the more visible during the tan months of winter on an Uplands area of the Preserve Eco-Walk Trail.
Manatee Marsh at Dixie Shores Trail Pond at the Eco-Walk
An anhinga spreads its wing to dry while standing on a lone small karst rock outscropping near a densely foliaged island that looms behind it. Small pools of water covet the crannies provided by the rocky, pocketed karst shore. Clumps of tenacious native plants cling to the uneven footing. The Marshes of St. Martins on the Preserve provide a verdant vista of green and blue with sawgrasses and palm trees mingling along the landscape.
A Preserve Island A Rockland Habitat Marsh
A tidal pool located along the Ft. Island Trail Road meanders in front of a field of sawgrass. A distant stand of palm trees sits beneath a stormy sky. A twisting A wild turkey struts quickly along a dirt path under sun dappled palmettos. His profile shows off his red speckled neck and beak wattles.
A tidal creek and marsh A tidal creek and marsh Wild turkey
An aptly named Zebra butterfly alights upon a sunkissed blade of grass among the fallen leaves upon the forest floor.   A gangly brown spotted immature Yellow Crowned Heron perches on a tall brown dock pole located at the Visitor Center.
Zebra butterfly   Immature Yellow Crowned Heron

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