Scrubby flatwoods of Oscar Scherer State Park is bursting with fall wildflowers.

Oscar Scherer State Park is one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of Scrubby Flatwoods habitats in Sarasota County. This 1381+ acres of scrub and Pine Flatwoods is home to the endangered Florida Scrub Jay, the only bird that is endemic to Florida. It is also an important habitat for other protected species such as the gopher tortoise, Eastern Indigo snake, and the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. This habitat is modest as it is not particularly showy, the soil tends to be sandy and the terrain flat.

To get to the 5 mile loop the trail briefly leaves the park and follows the rails-to-trails path for 200 yards north to the entrance of the newer parcel donated by Ellie Scherer. It starts as a scrubby flatwoods habitat with curious Florida scrub jays making their raspy calls.

I am filled with delight as I spot the Florida giant orchid near an aging slash pine. The giant orchid is a terrestrial orchid with modest blooms that thrives in the well drained sandy soils of the scrubs. As you turn north there the habitat turns into hardwood hammock and offers much welcome shade. Cross the bridge at Black creek and the trail winds through a forest of slash pines. The slash pines make an interesting scene with their long needles, clumps of pine cones, and crooked trunks. I cautiously watch for bobcats lurking in the saw palmetto as I follow its tracks along the trail. As I round mile 4 there is a small lake with a wheelchair accessible overlook built for observation. I climb this modest facility and rest on a covered bench for a moment enjoying the sweeping view of the lake and then scurry back down the path.

Here I encounter a gopher tortoise coming at me head on completely unaware of my presence. I try to stay still while desperately feeling for me video cam hanging by a carabiner from the shoulder straps of my day-pack. Soon he notices me and recedes back into his shell. Amused at this slow moving work horse, I continue on with my trek.  See the gopher tortoise is classified as a keystone species that provides benefits in the form of shelter for up to 360 others other species in Florida. Look inside a gopher hole to find other inhabitants such as rattlesnakes, coachwhips, Eastern indigo, Florida Mouse, Burrowing owls and more.

I spot more goldenrod along the trail. I pause to observe the scene for photo angles and I hear a ruffle in the grass. I am taken aback by an eastern indigo snake barreling out of the grasses and raising his head as if to strike all in a moments time. He sees I am not a threat and quickly turns to disappear back into the brush. Soon the loop crosses back over the black creek and I am back in the scrubby flatwoods to complete the loop.

Map of Oscar Scherer Yellow Trail by B A Bowen Photography

The Red (2 mile) and Blue (1.5 mile) trails at Oscar Scherer State Park are a nice hike through Scrub Jay habitat as it winds through mesic pine and scrubby flatwoods. Both trails can be accessed east of the parking area near the nature center as they share the same path for the first leg of the loops. As I begin my journey, I encounter another gopher tortoise while he hastily makes his way down a worn path through the grasses to his gopher hole. I take a photo of his footprints left in the sand for future reference.

Soon I am at the intersection where the red and blue trails split apart. I turn left to follow the red trail first. The trail becomes soggy and meadow beauty adds splashes of pink color as it is seen blooming amongst the grasses. Crooked slash pines become more common as the trail turns south. The pines give way to a scrub dominated by saw palmetto with splashes of golden rod blooming up between these fibrous palms. As the loop turns back south, I come upon an island of purple liatris full of activity with several butterflies. Longtailed skippers, Cloudless sulphers, and swallowtails hop from stalk to stalk gathering nectar from the tiny purple blooms. I spend several moments here taking photos and appreciating this natural oasis bursting with color in a normally monochromatic green scrub.

The trail then rounds back east and I soon find the intersection that connects to the blue loop. I follow the blue loop east then south and observe as the mesic flatwoods habitat turns into a scrubby flatwoods dominated by low growing scrub oaks, wax myrtle and blackberry bushes. Out of natural curiosity, the scrub jays perch themselves nearby watching me hike through their territory. In an attempt to put them at ease, I grab my i-phone and play a scrub-jay call for them to hear. They come closer and sit in trees a few feet away. I play the call again and one flies over to sit on my head. Filled with amazement and surprise, I quickly switch from the Audubon Bird app to the camera app and blindly snapped photos trying to capture this wondrous moment of this friendly Jay on my head. After a few moments he flies away and I scroll through my photos happily find a few snapshots that captured the bird.

Friendly Florida Scrub Jay

Excited I begin to forward the photo in text messages to my best friend and my son. As I am consumed by communicating with my handheld electronic device, an eastern diamondback rattlesnake catches me by surprise as he comes barreling out of the grasses and coils ready to strike. I jump sideways to clear his path as adrenaline shoots through my veins. We are at a stand-off only six feet apart as he sizes me up while in strike mode. I keep one eye on the snake and use the other to work the phone as this was another great photo-op that I did not want to miss. After I capture a few photos on the I-phone, he relaxes and retreats back into the grass from where he came. My heart is pounding as I am thrilled to be hiking in such a wild place!

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

From here the trail leads me east where a Rufus-sided towhee flies over and hides in a low growing oak tree. I continue on the trail as it turns briefly south then back west to complete the loop.
Click here to view more photos of Oscar Scherer State Park on flickr.

Recreational Opportunities: Enjoy this natural habitat by hiking/biking 15 miles of trails, canoeing the South Creek, camping, swimming, or enjoying the nature center. Oscar Scherer State Park is located on US 41 in the city of Nokomis.

Address: 

1843 S. Tamiami Trail

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