2022 01 21 - Circle B Bar Reserve - Lakeland FL

Alligator Alley - It get to the water the path is under the most covered trees.

This is about a 2-1/2 mile path. We have done a couple of their other paths so this may have been the last new one for us.

The crowd was about average for nature centers, parking lot was about half full. Sometimes we could see people when we were walking, sometimes we couldn't. Based on the pictures I took, it took us about two hours with all the stops to take pictures and watch wildlife.

The path is over 95% sand with only a little of it paved at the very beginning and the very end. The sand wasn't loose today but I did not see any tire tracks from strollers or wheel chairs. There likely is not more than a couple of feed difference in elevation anywhere on the trail so if hills bother you, this is a trail for you.

One one of our prior visits it had been very cold before we got here, this time it will be cold after we have been here. So that time the alligators were out sunning themselves on the shore. Today we saw at least a half dozen alligators but they were all partially submerged.

PICTURE - This is the closest we got to any of the large alligators. This is zoomed in, but it was likely less than 20 feet off shore.

We did see one that was closer to us, but it was only about two feet long.

PICTURE - This bird has a fish in it's mouth. Both of the above pictures are from video. In this one the bird carried the fish for 10+ feet before it finally got a better grip on it and swallowed it.

We also saw some kind of a hawk on the top of a tree right over the trail that was eating a larger fish a bite at a time. Nature.

Lots of birds that would quit singing when I started filming.

And just lots of birds. We didn't see any eagles but there was a eagle wing span sign that kids could stand in front of so I am guessing eagles are in the area.

We also saw a few turtles sunning themselves and as we were leaving I saw a couple of pigs. Not sure if they are 'wild pigs' or domestic pigs that are running wild.