PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — About 6,000 acres of undisturbed land in northern Palm Beach County is home to an array of bird species.
WPTV recently took a tour of Pine Glades Natural Area with Jay Ailworth — a local wildlife photographer and nature guide — who has been coming here for more than 10 years.
Ailworth has hundreds of pictures of wildlife from the park. The pictures include plenty of birds including red-winged blackbirds, eastern meadowlarks, northern bobwhites, sandhill cranes, vultures, hawks, ospreys, big and little herons and many more.
Sometimes Ailworth can identify a bird just by hearing it chirp.
These protected lands, located just 8 miles west of Jupiter along Indiantown Road, are considered wetlands, although they are much drier in the winter months.
Ailworth said winter is a great time for a nature hike and that's not only because you can keep your boots dry.
"This a better time just simply because of the migratory pattern," Ailworth said. "The birds are here now and they are mating now."
Birds from as far away as South America can be seen at the park. The swallow-tailed kite is a migratory bird frequently seen here in the early months of the year.
"That bird is only here in the spring," Ailworth said. "It comes up from Venezuela."
During WPTV's visit to the Pine Glades Natural Area, we also spotted some gorgeous flowers and butterflies.
One butterfly that Ailworth pointed out was a white peacock. When WPTV reporter Kate Wentzel looked into the viewfinder of his camera, she noticed something called eyespots which look almost exactly like eyes.
Ailworth out that there is an important reason for this coloring.
"Almost everything you see on a butterfly is designed to keep somebody away," Ailworth said.
One of the walking trails at the natural area takes visitors directly underneath an osprey's nest.
During our visit, our goal was to get a picture of the osprey without causing it too much distress.
Its hesitancy to fly away from the nest probably means it was sitting on an egg. The bird eventually flew away and Ailworth snapped some great pictures.
During your visit to Pine Glades, be sure to be careful near the water since gators are usually lurking.
Even if you're not a birder, there is still plenty to do here including fishing, kayaking, or simply taking a leisurely stroll.
