Along with a handful of vacant storefronts, the wonderful old Marina Hardware provides the place to go for waders, fishing advice, bug spray and copper tubing. And a slightly raggedy downtown channels Mayberry after a bender. Shambling bait shacks keep company with live oak trees. On the other side sits a friendly town that is sweet without a hint of preciousness. Cross a bridge about 20 miles from the mainland, along a two-lane road dotted with mom-and-pop motels, produce stands and family-owned eateries. It's located about 50 miles southwest of Gainesville in what's fittingly called the Nature Coast. To get to Cedar Key, follow route 24 west until you think you're lost.
You won't discover it, unless you turn your back on the main road and head west. We counted at least seven of the beautiful birds, seven more reasons to fall in love with Cedar Key, a nature lover's paradise that manages to stay off the beaten track without losing a hint of its funky charm.Ĭedar Key, population upwards of 900 until the Canadian snowbirds descend, represents a slice of Old Florida. Now legally protected, the number of birds are growing, with an estimated 1,100 spoonbill pairs in Florida, according to Audubon Florida. Hunters wanted them for their pink plumage and their wings, which were sold as souvenir fans to 19th-century tourists.
These shore birds, known for their four-foot wingspan and oddly shaped bill, were once hunted almost to extinction.
To get to Cedar Key, follow route 24 until you think you're lost.Īs brilliant as a Technicolor sunset, a flock of roseate spoonbills take flight just ahead of us, filling the horizon with splashes of fuchsia and tangerine and a soundtrack of low, guttural grunts.
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