Powell Creek Preserve, Nalle Grade Park, North Fort Myers, 5 Jan 2026 (Google Map Powell Creek; Map for Nalle Grade Park)
Powell Creek Preserve (15601 Hart Road, North Fort Myers) is a 77-acre tract with water impoundments that serve as a filter marsh designed to improve water quality in Powell Creek and downstream. The initial 18-acre parcel was acquired by Lee County in 2003 and was expanded in 2015. It has a paved, relatively flat, 1.7 mile loop trail around the restored marshes. There are no modern restroom facilities on the sight. Parking is free.
Native plants were used extensively in ecological restoration of the area, which has a history as a cotton farm and a cattle operation. Fringing the water are shrubs such as Walter's Viburnum, Wild Coffee, and the herbaceous plant, Fakahatchee Grass. Slash Pines and Live and Laurel Oaks are common trees in the area.
Users of eBird have reported a total of 165 bird species from the preserve. January sightings include: Mottled Ducks, Mallards, Mottled x Mallard hybrids, Gadwalls, Blue-winged Teal, and Lesser Scaup. In addition to our common egrets and herons, other waders, such as Common and Purple Gallinules, Limpkins, Wood Storks, and Wilson's Snipes also are encountered in January. Bald Eagles, Ospreys, and Snail Kites are seen as well.
After our visit to Powell Creek, we often continue on to Nalle Grade Park (8530 Nalle Grade Rd, North Fort Myers), which is a 7.5-mile drive that takes about 12 min. Directions: Head S on Hart Rd for 0.4 mi. Turn left onto Bayshore Rd for 1.2 mi. Turn left onto Slater Rd for 4.0 mi. Turn right onto Nalle Grade Rd for 1.9 mi. Nalle Grade Park is on the right. Parking is free. There are picnic tables but no modern restroom facilities. The park is a 74-acre open track with a large storm water impoundment. Waders are common. Meadowlarks are often seen. Don't go beyond the far end of the lake. There's an archery range back there!
Occasionally, we may head to a third site, Caloosahatchee Regional Park (19130 North River Rd, Alva; Google Map), which is a 15-mile drive that takes about 23 min. Directions: Head right (E) on Nalle Grade Rd for 1.1 mi. Turn right onto Nalle Rd for 2.8 mi. Turn left onto Bayshore Rd for 2.7 mi. Turn left onto FL-31N/Babcock Ranch Rd for 1.3 mi. Turn right onto FL-78E/N River Rd for 7.1 mi. The park entrance is on the right. Go 0.3 mi and veer right into the parking area.
This 770-acre park has picnic areas and modern restrooms. It is located along the Caloosahatchee River, with a ca. 700-ft trail through rich hardwood hammock that leads to the river. Parking is $1/hr or $5/day unless you have a Lee County Parks and Recreation annual parking pass ($60 - https://www.leegov.com/parks/resources/parking - links are problematic). Here we would tabulate our bird list and have lunch (BYOL). The park was purchased by the State of Florida in the 1960s. In 1989, Lee County entered into a lease that required it to provide public recreational opportunities. Currently there are nature trails, bike trails, and horse trails. In addition to oak hammocks, the park includes pine flatwoods, scrub oak areas, and cypress swamps. Users of eBird report a total of 128 bird species from the park. Crested Caracaras, Bald Eagles, and Osceola Turkeys are occasionally spotted along North River Rd. Red-headed Woodpeckers may be seen in the slash pines along the park driveway. In warmer months, gopher tortoises are commonly seen grazing on the grassy driveway roadsides.
Harns Marsh, Fort Myers, 12 Jan 2026 (Google Map)
Harns Marsh (38th St W, Fort Myers, 26°39'00.5"N 81°41'11.6"W, 26°39'00.5"N 81°41'11.6"W) is a 578-acre lake and marshy area located in Lehigh Acres, E of Buckingham AirPark East. In the 1980s, the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District (LA-MSID) worked to convert private farmland formerly owned by the Harms family into a storm water control area. Weirs, gates and risers, canals, and interconnected filtration cells were installed to help control flooding in the nearby Orange River and to act as a natural water filtration system. The preserve is owned by Lee County and is jointly managed by the county and LA-MSID. The area is open for passive recreation and features a 3.9-mile gravel nature trail. The preserve is sometimes closed for maintenance and when water levels are extremely high. Parking is free. Unless special permission is obtained, vehicles are not allowed inside the fence. There are no restroom or picnic facilities available.
Users of eBird report a total of 232 bird species from the preserve, including: 21 species of ducks. In January, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Mottled Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Hooded Mergansers are among the most commonly seen.
In addition to our common charismatic waders, January sightings at Harns Marsh include: King Rails, Wilson's Snipe, and sometimes Least Sandpipers, and Western Sandpipers.
January birds of prey include: Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, Snail Kites, Short-tailed Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, Crested Caracaras, and sometimes even Merlins and Peregrine Falcons.
Ten different warblers have been reported from Harns Marsh in January: Black-and-white Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Northern Parulas, Palm Warblers, Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, and Prairie Warblers.
CREW Flint Pen Strand Trails, Bonita Springs, 19 Jan 2026 (Google Map)
The Flint Pen Strand Trails (15970 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs FL) site is a 800-acre Lee County portion of a 14,000-acre watershed preserve that comprises a cypress swamp strand (strand = linear swamp), pine flatwoods, and mixed shrubby and marshy habitats. The origin of the name is not readily found online, but it might refer to a feature of the large cattle operations of Harry Lee Flint (1925-2011), son of a pioneering Lee County family. Others believe that it was a hog pen owned by another Flint. Flint Pen Strand is owned by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and is managed by CREW (see crewtrust.org). The trails site formally opened to the public in November, 2018. Parking is free. There are no rest room facilities available.
There are four different hiking trails at Flint Pen. Birders often frequent at least a portion of the Orange Trail (2.9 mi). According to users of eBird, 161 species of birds have been observed along the trail. In January, typically a wide variety of waders are present. Eight different warblers have been reported in January, including the Orange-crowned Warbler. One of the CBC's most exciting finds at Flint Pen in 2025 was tracking down and viewing the western species, Vaux's Swift, which had been reported from the area. It was flying with masses of Tree Swallows.
Marsh Trail, Big Cypress, Ten Thousand Islands NWR, Naples, 26 Jan 2026 (Google Map)
The Marsh Trail (21004 Tamiami Trl E, Naples, FL) is a 2.3-mile up-and-back trail that includes an observation tower. We do not walk that far! Parking is free and there is a porta potty on site.
Much of the area is a marsh with plenty of open water. The unpaved, but level, trail is lined with tropical shrubs and small trees. Charismatic waders and common ducks are often abundant. The tower provides an excellent bird's-eye view of the area.
Users of eBird report 224 species from the site. Fifteen different warblers have been seen in the month of January. It is not unusual for the CBC to observe an Orange-crowned Warbler.
After visiting the Marsh Trail, we are most likely to head SE 6.3 mi along the old Tamiami Trail to the new Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, which is located on the north (left) side of the road in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Parking is $3/vehicle for a day pass (up to eight people). Payment should be made online beforehand at this site. The 1500-foot boardwalk over a marshy area has modern restroom facilities.
Users of eBird report 205 bird species from the boardwalk, many of them similar to those found on the Marsh Trail. In January 2025, our most exciting find along the boardwalk was a Bullock's Oriole, a western species. We found it in a clump of small trees very near the W end of the boardwalk.