Get a close look at native wildlife at the Orlando Wetlands Festival on Saturday

By Gunnar Shuler on Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 5:00 am

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Get a close look at native wildlife at the Orlando Wetlands Festival on Saturday

Ashley Belanger

Here in Orlando we live in a bubble, isolated from what a lot of Central Florida really looks like. We’re surrounded by swamps and wetlands. Head to Orlando Wetlands Festival, put on by the City of Orlando, Orange Audubon Society and Orange County Parks and Recreation Department, if you want that connection to what Central Florida would be like had it never been bulldozed and paved. Take guided bird-watching tours or exploration hikes through the wetlands if you’re interested in large reptiles, but if you don’t feel up for the walking there will be rides given along the bank. Other activities include bird-banding and mist-netting demonstrations for anyone who has ever felt the urge to catch and tag birds, along with food and exhibitors.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 | Fort Christmas Historical Park, 1300 N. Fort Christmas Road, Christmas | cityoforlando.net/wetlands | free