Circle B Bar Reserve is 1,200 acres of county land that was previously a cattle ranch. Abbey and I were blown away by the wildlife and the solitude of this place – there were only a handful of other people here. We spent a few hours roaming the trails with her Uncle and left after sunset. I could spend all day here.

I realize Great Blue Herons are common, but I really like them. They sound like what I imagine dinosaurs sounded like.

Gopher Tortoises are threatened due to habitat destruction. This is alarming because they’re considered a “keystone species,” mostly because their numerous and large burrows become home to hundreds of other species, including owls, snakes, amphibians, invertebrates, small mammals, and more. Gopher Tortoise burrows can be 10 feet deep ad over 40 feet long. We were lucky to see one. This guy has a tracker glued to his shell and is evidently #70.

Limpkins are goofy birds that almost exclusively eat apple snails. Their beaks are specially adapted for extracting the sweet sweet snail innards.

Alligators were plentiful at this preserve. On several occasions we had to carefully inch our way past alligators that were sunning themselves on a narrow peninsula of land where the trail went.

It took 5 minutes for this Great Blue Heron to properly align this huge catfish (well, huge for the heron) before swallowing it whole.

Bald Eagle nests can weigh over 2,000 pounds.

Monkey Island in Homosassa, Florida, is home to a handful of Spider Monkeys. Supposedly a doctor brought monkeys back from Africa to test Polio vaccines on, and once the monkeys had served their purpose, they were released on the island. They are fed twice a day, but I’m not sure by who. The monkeys looked happy, despite being confined to their little Alcatraz.

Now we’re headed further South.

Cheers!