The Celery Fields got bigger on Saturday, Oct. 24. Sarasota Audubon Society and Big Waters Land Trust opened the 11-acre Southeast Quad to the public. It sits on the Quad parcels at Palmer Boulevard and Apex Road. It is the first finished piece of a three-parcel expansion, and the order of the work matters. The planners built the wildlife habitat first. The restroom, play area and picnic shade come in a later phase. This winter, the new ground is mostly for birds and the people who come to watch them.
What Opened on the West Edge
The Quad parcels are 33 acres of land along the western edge of the Celery Fields. Sarasota County owns them. Sarasota County kept the fourth corner of that grid for its own use. Twenty-eight acres across the southeast, southwest and northeast parcels are being rewilded under a conservation easement held by Big Waters, and Sarasota Audubon manages the land. Big Waters Land Trust describes the parcels as a natural buffer between the preserve and the industrial areas to its west.
Here is what the Southeast Quad holds now:
- More than 21,000 native trees and plants. Planting finished in July 2026.
- A 1-acre pond. According to Sarasota Audubon, it has already drawn more than a dozen species of wading birds.
- A gazebo overlooking the pond, built in the early stage of the work.
- Walking paths through the new plantings.
The pond's early record matters most for a regular visitor. A pond that opened to the public in late October has already logged a dozen-plus wader species, before the busiest months of the winter birding season. That gives the Celery Fields a viewing spot it didn't have a year ago. The preserve already counts more than 250 bird species on Sarasota Audubon's list.
The phase cost $2.6 million, and donations covering it were in hand by spring 2025. Sarasota Audubon's timeline puts the start of planting at July 2025. Big Waters' September release dates the phase's launch to January 2025. Either way, a bare parcel became a planted, open site in under two years.
Finding the New Parcel
The familiar Celery Fields features are the Palmer Boulevard lot, the boardwalks and the trails up the hill. The Southeast Quad sits apart from them, on the Apex Road side. For opening day, Sarasota Audubon listed the address as 6300 Palmer Blvd. Visitors entered from Apex Road just south of the Palmer roundabout and parked in the empty Southwest Quad across the street. That parking was set up for the event. The Southwest Quad's planned parking hasn't been built yet.
Here is how the new parcel fits with the spots you already know:
| Spot | Where | Hours and access |
|---|---|---|
| Main county facility and lot | 6893 Palmer Blvd., Sarasota | 6 a.m. to sunset, dogs on leash |
| Sarasota Audubon Nature Center | 999 Center Road, Sarasota | 9 a.m. to noon daily starting Nov. 7; outdoor space always open |
| Raymond Road boardwalk | Off Raymond Road | Grass-shoulder parking; free |
| "Mt. Celery" | Trails to and across the hill | Roughly 85 feet tall |
| Southeast Quad | Palmer Blvd. and Apex Road | Opening-day entry was from Apex Road south of the roundabout |
The county's posted hours of 6 a.m. to sunset cover the Celery Fields facility as a whole. Sarasota Audubon hasn't posted separate hours for the Quad, so the county schedule is the safest one to plan around. The eBird hotspot guide says parking and admission are free across the existing site.
Why Early November Has a Quirk
The Nature Center on Center Road is the base for the preserve's volunteer docents, and its season runs October through May. This year it starts with a short gap. Sarasota Audubon's October newsletter explains that the building closes for Election Week because the county uses it as a polling place. It reopens Saturday, Nov. 7, with docents on hand from 9 a.m. to noon every day of the week. The trails and boardwalks stay open during the closure. If you visit during Election Week, you'll find the outdoor space as usual and no one at the gift shop counter.
The season's program calendar is large. The same newsletter counts 68 walks and 19 classes for the year. Times and sign-ups are on the Sarasota Audubon website. There is also a standing option. The eBird guide lists Sarasota Audubon Bird Naturalists at the two existing boardwalks from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., November through April. These are volunteers who help identify birds. They don't lead scheduled walks, and the guide describes coverage at the new Quad as only anticipated.
What the Winter Brings to the Water
The pond's timing works out well. The Southeast Quad opened just as the Celery Fields' winter species start arriving, so its first full season as public ground lines up with the preserve's most productive months. The eBird hotspot guide names these winter possibilities:
- Ducks on open water: Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Northern Shoveler and Hooded Merganser.
- Secretive birds along the marsh edges: Sora, Virginia Rail, American Bittern and Wilson's Snipe.
- Wrens in the grasses: Marsh Wren, Northern House Wren and Sedge Wren.
- Birds of prey over the fields: American Kestrel and Northern Harrier. Bald Eagles also nest near the fields from November through March.
- A regular along the water: Belted Kingfisher.
Many of the birds on that list need water, cover or open grass. Those are the habitats the Quad planting is meant to add. Sarasota Audubon has already posted one early sign of nesting on the Quads. A pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks nested and hatched 20 young.
The Amenities Come Next
The Southwest Quad, the empty lot that served as opening-day parking, is next. Big Waters describes it as "a nature-based community space." It will get hundreds more trees and plants plus a restroom, a nature-themed playground, a flex lawn and shaded picnic facilities. Sarasota Audubon's list for the same parcel also includes parking and shaded seating. Big Waters' earlier plan added a Celery Fields history walk along a winding path and ADA-compliant trails.
A $1 million community match, announced in September, is paying for that work. It is made up of:
- $350,000 from Barancik Foundation
- $350,000 from Gulf Coast Community Foundation
- $300,000 from Gulf Coast donors Bob and Joan Geyer, the Elizabeth Moore Sunrise Fund, and the Elsa & Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation
No completion date has been published for the Southwest Quad. The same goes for the Northeast Quad, which Big Waters plans with a naturally graded pond for water birds, an osprey platform, wide plantings and trails all the way around. One older Big Waters property page still says "No public access" for the Quad parcels. That page was written before the Southeast Quad opened, and Sarasota Audubon's opening notice replaces it.
The partners have also planned for upkeep. Sarasota Audubon expects the three finished Quads to cost $50,000 to $75,000 a year to maintain, and it is building a dedicated maintenance fund. For context, the entire Southeast Quad cost $2.6 million to build. Funding upkeep in advance gives the plantings a better chance of still looking right in a decade.
The calendar has another date coming up. Sarasota Audubon marks its 75th anniversary season with the Roots and Wings Gala on Friday, Jan. 22, 2027, at Michael's on East. By then, the Southeast Quad pond will be well into its first winter of ducks, rails and wrens.
New public land like the Quads is the kind of local change The Brescia Group tracks across Sarasota and Tampa Bay, because it shapes how a part of town feels day to day. If you live near the Celery Fields and want to know how eastern Sarasota County's growth shows up in your home's value, start with an instant home valuation. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
