The Citrus County Eco-tourism Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Sam Lyons, started the Citrus County section of the Great Florida Birding Trail in 1999. The Eco-tourism committee selected Dick Blewett and Susan Dougherty to be the coordinators of the project.

The first decision made was to keep the trails on public property. All the land managers of public lands were contacted about establishing birding trails on their properties. All the land managers responded positively, and the success of the birding trail system in Citrus County can be attributed to their willingness to provide a trail or trails.

The land managers selected the trails, and no section of the County was missed. Dick Blewett and each land manager surveyed each trail for its suitability for birding. In the process, twenty additional sites, not designated as trails, were located as good birding sites. Gary Maidhof selected the name "Citrus County Birding Hotspots" for these sites. Although they are not trails in the Great Florida Birding Trail System, they are sites worth visiting on a regular basis or when on one of the nearby trails.

When the project started, it was soon realized there was no recent data available on birds of Citrus County. A decision was made to conduct a bird census on all the trails once a month for the year 2000. The birding community, with the help of the Citrus County Audubon Society, did the monthly bird census and compiled the data. During 2000, approximately 250 bird species were identified. This census established the baseline for the birds of Citrus County. It is estimated about 300 bird species live in, or pass through, the County every year.

As we were accumulating trail data, we started our website: www.citrusbirdingtrail.com. Rolf Auerrnmann, our web master, works continually to upgrade the website. In 2003, the website was recognized by Americantrails.org as one of the best Education & Wildlife websites nationally. The website includes all the material in this guide. In addition, it allows people to log on and report their findings on our trail system or on any of the birding hotspots. We hope you will help keep the data current by reporting your bird list on the web. See details in this guide.

In October 2001, Julie Brashears, State of Florida coordinator for the Great Florida Birding Trail, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, spent a week in Citrus County surveying all our trails with Dick Blewett and each respective land manager. She approved eighteen trails. The trail system is divided into three natural areas: coastal, sand ridge and lake region.

To encourage public awareness of the Citrus County Great Florida Birding Trail System, we have created a tabletop display that can be seen at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Citrus County's gateway to our trails. The display is also used for presentations to groups on the trail system. Mary Craven, Citrus County Tourism Development Manager, also uses the display at various functions around the State. We are particularly grateful to Mary Craven for her support of this project since its inception.

We hope you will visit our birding trails on a regular basis. Watch the newspapers for scheduled birding tours, and use this guide to see how you can help further the cause of the trail system by adopting a trail.