Brooker Creek Preserve 

82 degrees

slight breeze

1% cloud coverage 

     Brooker Creek Preserve is the larges park in Pinellas county at 8500 acres of land. The park is mostly forested wetlands and pine flat woods and contributes a vital resource of potable water. The park was used for cattle grazing, timber, and orchards in the past which affected the way the land was managed. The park now does prescribed burns in two phases fuel reduction and ecological burn. Fuel reduction burns are done in the winter when the fuel is less volatile and easy to control. Ecological burns are done in the summer and mimic the naturally occurring fires caused by lighting strikes. 

     There are many species of wildlife that thrive in the park, I spotted several deer within the 2 hours we were there. It is very interesting to visit a park that has such a thriving animal population.              

 Gopher tortoise hole

 On the right of the walkway (below) there is swamp land on the left (above) becomes a hammock due to the slight increase in elevation.

resurrection fern growing on the tree seen above looks dead when it becomes dry but becomes green when it has moisture again.

 We spotted this great egret looking for something to eat.

 Above is a picture of the pine flat lands we came across in the park, note the thin canopy and under story but thick shrub layer due to the higher amount of light.

Two deer were grazing at the exit of the park