Cooters at Cooter Park, Inverness
Have you driven US 41 through Inverness anytime lately? If not, you’re in for a treat. Seems several years ago the city took on a serious cleanup and park creation project right along the downtown pondfront at the municipal complex, and the end result is Cooter Pond Park, notable for its big stack of faux cooter turtles at the corner with US 41. The boardwalk complex, which zigzags over the sizable pond, is an ideal place for birding.
I’ve been there several times since it opened, and it never fails that I encounter some large bird – a red-shouldered hawk this last visit – on the boardwalk railing by the gazebo. Look down into the pond, and you’ll see the namesakes of this waterway, docile and placid, and you might scare up a few gators, too. The boardwalk is a good half-mile-plus round-trip from the city lot, and offers little games and puzzles for the littlest ones.
From Bill Coleman:
I’ll check out the park next time I’m in Inverness. We used to spend almost all of our vacation time in Inverness visiting relatives – back before it was “discovered.”