Circle B Bar Reserve

The Circle B Bar Reserve is 1,267 acres of wilderness located in Polk County, FL. The trails were excellent and easy to navigate. The reserve is free. The Polk County Nature Discovery Center, located here as well, has exhibits, a tree house, and a fox crawl the kids had a blast in. 

The trail we took first started out in Shady Oaks, with Spanish moss hanging and a canopy above. The amount of birds flying above was amazing. We saw a couple hundred birds.  We saw birds of prey (vultures, hawks, osprey), and water birds (Great Ergret, Great Blue Heron, Anhinga, and White Ibis).

 

The next trail we took was Alligator Alley. The kids were amazing quiet in search of our first alligator. Derek spotted the first one. We saw a dozen alligators, from 5 feet to 12 feet. 

We also saw turtles, a bobcat, raccoons, wild boar and  a neat spiny spider. 

It was amazing to see the animals in their natural environment.  Incredible.