I recently discovered Circle B Bar Reserve  near Lakeland, Florida, a fantastic birding spot! We were only there for a little over two hours (and didn’t even walk a mile into the reserve… all the birds were about a quarter mile from the nature center). Even at noon the birds were active and out in the open.

We saw:

• flocks of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Blue-winged Teals, and Coots.
• at least a dozen Sandhill Cranes, Common Moorhens, Great Egrets, and Anhingas.
• a handful of Limpkins, Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, and Pied-billed Grebes.
• a Mourning Dove, a Tricolored Heron, a Little Blue Heron, a Sora, and a Purple Gallinule.

I heard grackles and other birds that I didn’t bother to identify. And of course, there’s always some that “get away.” We also saw turtles and a rabbit.

To see photos from Circle B Bar Reserve, click on the individual bird species in the above list or visit my online photo album of the best photos of birds we’ve identified in Florida over the years.  The last ten photos in the album are from the Circle B Bar Reserve. (Click on the album cover below.)

My Birding in Florida photo album