A Day at the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park

This park tells the story of Florida's largest Civil War battle, which took place Feb. 20, 1864.

More than 10,000 cavalry, infantry and artillery troops fought a five-hour battle in a pine forest near Olustee, including the now famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The battle ended with 2,807 casualties and the retreat of Union troops to Jacksonville until the war's end just 14 months later. For more information about the Park, go to https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/olustee-battlefield-historic-state-park.

Not just known for the history of the famous battle, visitors to the Park can see abundant animal and plant life in this wonderful place. This location is about a 1.5 hour drive from St. Augustine. Target birds for this field trip are the Red-cockaded and Red-headed Woodpeckers, Bachman's Sparrows, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Northern Bobwhites (probably a heard-only bird), and several warbler species.

That said, the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are most easily observed when they leave their nests to go out to their feeding grounds.

Because of this , we will meet you at the small parking lot just to the left of the entry gate at 7:30 am.

Bathroom facilities and parking are available.

We’ll finish up the walk about noon, so bring a lunch and join us at one of the Park’s picnic areas for a get together. You may want to spend some time in the afternoon wandering the park to explore the Civil War history of this place.

We encourage you to consider joining the SJCA. You can join for as little as $15/year, which can help us continue and expand our work. To join the SJCA, follow this link: www.stjohnsaudubon.com.

Host or Publisher St. Johns County Audubon