return to FFWCC home

 image of compassWildlife Viewing Site return to Wildlife Viewing Sites index

return to Wildlife Viewing home


Avon Park Air Force Range

drawing of wildlife

Description:
Although Avon Park is an active military installation, it is endowed with large areas of rare central Florida ecosystems, including dry prairie, oak and sand pine scrubs, pine flatwoods, and freshwater marshes that abut the Kissimmee River. There is a catwalk with an observation tower that looks over Lake Arbuckle, a levee for walking around a freshwater marsh, and 12 miles of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Access to the range is limited. DUE TO MILITARY USE AND MANAGED HUNTS, SITE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC JANUARY - OCTOBER ONLY, THURSDAY NOON THROUGH MONDAY EVENING.

Watchable wildlife:
There is a tremendous variety of birds at this range. Red-cockaded woodpeckers, eastern bluebirds, and other species of the flatwoods nest near Bravo Road. Crested caracaras and grasshopper sparrows are sometimes seen along the north side of Kissimmee Road. Pileated woodpeckers, barred owls, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey live in and around a string of oak hammocks that separate the marshes from the surrounding uplands.

Ownership:
U.S. Air Force

Contact:
(863) 452-4254

Directions:
Take Florida Highway 64 10 miles east of Avon Park.  Obtain permit, map and other information at the natural resources office.

Related Sites:
Other Central Florida Wildlife Sites
Florida State Parks


Top of Page
Wildlife Viewing Home | Where to go in Florida  | Species Spotlight  | Viewing Information 
In Your Back Yard  | Wings Over Florida Birding Certificate Program  | With Your Child 
Publications | Great Florida Birding Trail | Florida Wildlife Calendar