If you are planning a visit to central Florida or if you are a native Floridian bird watcher, you have to visit Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, it is an absolutely beautiful place that one must see to appreciate.

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge Headquaters is located at 2045 Mud Lake Rd, De Leon Springs, FL 32130.

If you have never been to Lake Woodruff and you are using this interactive map or any map for that reason, you must understand that this map points to the headquaters and not the actual Refuge. To get to the refuge you must continue west on Mud Lake road and don’t worry it’s not muddy, some points are dirt but nothing to be concerned about. Cross the railroad track and you enter a very nice pine forest and you will also see the main gate into the refuge, as this point the dirt road will change to paved. Continue following this road until you reach the parking lot. Vehicles are not permitted in the refuge so you have to walk. There are port-a-potties located in the parking lot so if you need to use the bathroom, this would be a good time.

This map is provided courtesy of US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICES.

The refuge is open during daylight hours. There are a few times a year when There are guided tours at night! I have been on one and they are a must! It is a whole different world at night. The owls are very vocal and if you hear a Limpkin you would swear that you just heard some kind of freaky zombie banshee monster! These tours are guided by The Friends of Lake Woodruff. This is a volunteer group that was formed in 1999

Do’s and Dont’s for Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.

Do’s

• Bring plenty of water

• Wear comfortable shoes ( you will be walking quite a bit)

• Bring some Sunglasses

• Fishing is allowed, you must have a license

• Bring a camera, spotting scope or binoculars

• Be aware of your surrroundings ( Don’t forget you are in the wild and there are many creatures here besides birds. There are Alligators and Snakes so when you see that awesome bird and you decide to try and get closer to get that perfect picture, pay attention to where you put your feet! I know it’s common sense but when I get excited and see an awesome bird I tend to lose all common sense! You would not want to step on this 12 foot long alligator)

Don’ts

• Do not feed or harass any of the wildlife! This is a National Refuge it is protected.

• No Camping

• No Fires

• No Firearms

• No Pets

• No Collecting ( Take nothing but pictures )

OK, now that I have gotten all of the formalities out of the way, let’s explore! If you are going to be venturing into any of the wooded areas make sure you have bug spray! This is Florida, we are surrounded by water and there are countless lakes, rivers and streams that are the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Most of the refuge is out in the open and you don’t need to worry about mosquitoes.

The refuge is also home to many Aquatic animals. I have seen snakes, turtles, alligators and otters all while walking through the refuge.

A large freshwater Turtle covered with weed from one of the streams.

A Ribbon Snake hiding in the grass.

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964. It is 21,574 acres of freshwater marshes, streams and lakes mixed with various kinds of swamps some of which are the favorite roosting sites for, Limpkins, SandHill Cranes and Swallow-Tailed Kites. Over 3400 acres are wooded uplands, consisting of pine flatwoods and scrub oak.

There are many species of animals that live at Lake Woodruff. For Birders the refuge provides nesting, overwintering and stopover habitat during migration for neotropical songbirds, migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds and raptors. Over 215 bird species have been counted at Lake Woodruff. 21 Species of duck can be found in the fall and winter season. ( I would not recommend visiting in the middle of summer unless you can take the heat and it gets hot!) The wood duck is a year round resident. Ring Necked ducks and Blue Winged Teal are the most common winter resident. The Fulvous whistling duck and the Hooded merganser have been occasionally sighted at the refuge. There are abundant wading birds such as, Glossy Ibis, Great Blue Heron and Egret. The refuge is also home to the White Egret and Little Blue Heron rookery.

Many songbirds visit the refuge during the winter months some have seen the Northern Parula, Yellow-Rumped and Orange crowned warbler, Red-eyed Vireos and more.

I remember going one summer afternoon when it wasn’t too hot and the sun was close to setting. There were thousand of birds, I believe they were swallows or swifts of some kind just doing some of the most amazing acrobatics over the expansive marsh areas. Some of them would pass so close that you could hear a whoosh of air as they flew by.

Lake Woodruff is the second largest premigration roosting colony of Swallow tailed kites. ( one of my favorites ) Approximately 500 kites congregate on the refuge from late July to early August foraging in preparation for a 5000 mile journey, to their wintering grounds in Brazil.

There are a few Bald Eagle Nests in the refuge and the Eagle can be seen flying overhead in the winter months.

There are many other animals that make the refuge their home. White tailed deer, Wild Turkeys, Bobcat and Black bear also live here at the refuge. The later being more inconspicuous.

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The refuge is also home to The Black vulture and the Turkey Vulture. I have seen large groups of them along some of the trails. If you go in the afternoon you can see them flying in from the East by the dozens. They spend the night in many of the tall trees that border the ponds on the west side of the most traversed trail.

There is a wildlife observation tower that has fixed Binoculars for viewing some of the marsh area. The Vultures like to hang out here as well and often the tower and binoculars are covered with these large birds.

You must give Lake Woodruff a visit, I am sure you will enjoy it, I always do!