Circle B Bar

It's hard to wrap Circle B up into one description though we've been many times.

It's named after the cattle ranch that used to be there and it was bought to protect the nearby Banana Creek marsh area. It's mostly of interest for water birds but in the relatively short forest trails that extend from the very well maintained education center we've seen quite a few firsts for warblers etc.

If you go left when facing away from the education center entrance it's a forested trail. Many birds, often a family of pigs seen there. At the end of that you see a lake and quite a few osprey. Once you approach the lake you see what many people likely see as the main event. It's a raised trail with the lake on the left and a ditch or wetlands on the right. The lake has the highest density of alligators I think I've ever seen - it's ridiculous. On both sides there's a high density of water birds. Many herons, egrets, whistling ducks, flocks of glossy ibis, purple and common gallinules, even a mandarin duck, and warring parties of limpkin. Hard not to be impressed really. It's been closed off for most of 2018 - I think alligators have been hanging out on the trail too often. But - if you kept going it would loop around to the education center. When I said go left- that would be going right. From that area there's a berm that goes across the lake and more trails. Across the lake is more exposed and less of interest. Some gopher tortoises. Only place I've almost been bitten by a pygmy rattler (I wasn't looking where I was going). Along this berm sometimes there are lots of swallows but it's at random.

All in all it's an A class place. One of the few places that everyone would enjoy (friends and family) even if they aren't that into nature. It's also an easy walk for older people etc.