Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
IUCN Category Ib (Wilderness Area)
Location	Collier County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Naples, Florida
Coordinates	26°25′4.41″N 81°32′18.33″W
Governing body	National Audubon Society

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida, north of Naples, Florida and east of Bonita Springs, in the United States. The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Pond Cypress (T. ascendens) in North America from extensive logging of the tree that was ongoing throughout the 1940s and 50's. The Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association was formed in 1954 to protect the area. The National Audubon Society accepted responsibility for management and started constructing the first boardwalk through the swamp in 1955. In all, nearly 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi) of wetland was purchased or donated (most from or by the owners, Lee Tidewater Cypress Center Co. and Collier Enterprises).

Today, a boardwalk of a little over 3 km (1.9 mi) length provides walking access through (actually 'over') pine flatwoods, wet prairie, Pond cypress, Bald cypress, and marsh ecosystems within the sanctuary.

The sanctuary visitor center is a Living Machine demonstration site.

The sanctuary is an important breeding area for the endangered Wood Stork, and other wetland birds, and has good numbers of wintering passerines, including the Painted Bunting. Numerous wading bird species can be found in the wetlands of the sanctuary, including the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret, and Snowy Egret. Specialist birds include Limpkin, Barred Owl and, in summer, Swallow-tailed Kite. As such, it has been designated as a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.

American Alligators and Cottonmouth snakes, are also prevalent here.

Gallery

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  A boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

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  A Sawgrass Prairie

External links

• Corkscrew Swamp
• 360°-Panoramic image from boardwalk at swamp area
• Corkscrew Swamp Online Picture Tour