Visiting the Baby Barred Owls

Finally got a chance to go check on the baby Barred Owls that were born next to my backyard at their reported new location down the street at the Greenwood Wetlands. It did not take long for me to find them across the bridge in the Cypress trees.



The first baby Barred Owl I found was looking at me for a couple of seconds but was much more interested in the Red-winged Blackbird flying back and forth across the creek.



I began looking for the other owl when a Great Blue Heron tried to sneak around behind me to go to a new fishing spot.



The other baby was a few tree to the West just relaxing.



Now that I made another contact with my kids, I headed closer to the lake to see what else was around. A Common Gallinule glided out into the open but was not too sure what to make of my presence.



Off to my left, I could see a small flock of Wood Ducks hunkered down among the Cypress knees. How can you ever resist a shot of male Wood Ducks when you get a chance?



Suddenly, an Anhinga bobbed up from the water during its search for breakfast.



I knew there was a family of Limpkin with chicks in the area but I never found the brood. Eventually, I did find one of the adults in the reeds near the willows.



Heading home, I was surprised to see a Raccoon scurrying around the stream below the owls. At least they are not around our house as much as they used to be.



I will have to go back again to try for the Limpkins when I can and there may be even more sights to see. Just need the time.

Hiking the Little Big Econ Trail

Our niece and nephew from the Northwest are in town and one of the things that was scheduled was a hike in the Little Big Econ to show them some Florida wilderness. I have a lot of photos to share so bear with it.

We stopped at a local restaurant to eat before our trek and then headed to the trailhead and get in a few (nearly six miles) hours of discovery.



We made our way through the small wooded area and emerged along the trail and approached the Econ River.



The kids headed straight for the water's edge and I took in the view at our first stop.



We continued along and I made a glance back to where we first touched the water. It is interesting to think of how we just left the parking area not long ago and were now in the depths of an Old Florida vista in just a few minutes.



The boys were ahead of us and were suddenly interested in something in the palmettos.



Don't know how they spotted it, but a nice, fat Cottonmouth was sunning under the vegetation and just sat and watched as we moved along. Zoom lenses are as close as I need to get today.



We continued to follow the Orange blaze and watched our step.



I was looking hard to find any plants in bloom but they were few and far between. I finally found some Tickseed in one sunny spot.



We made another trip down the banks and then tried to figure out how to get back up and out.



I love seeing the views of the rivers in Florida but the trail made it more difficult than I had hoped. I had to take some side routes to get through the plants and lean out for some nice shots.



I was mentioning that we needed to remember to get a shot of all the cousins in a shot when they decided to stop along the trail and got all bunched up perfectly. Hard to beat Christmas Eve in Florida while most of the country deals with cold.



While the group continued down the trail, I stepped down for another shot of the river as it made yet another bend.



My main goal, however, was to try and see what was making all the racket in the trees. Best I could find was a Tufted Titmouse busily feeding in the branches.



One of the many wooden bridges we crossed along our route.



Reaching the end of the stretch of this trail, everyone took in the scenery before we had to head back.



Of course, I had to scale the banks and get another shot before continuing.



Not too much to see on the way back but I found this moss interesting.



Hiding in the shadows, an Orchid has gone to seed but still grabbed my attention. I have only seen this species a couple of times over the years.



The kids were well ahead of me and David when I heard rustling in the scrub. I stopped and explored for a minute and found what I expected. A Black Racer was slinking through the bushes and waited for me to get a nice close-up.



We made the turns back up the trail and enjoyed a few more spectacular scenes as we tried to catch up to the cousins who were making a good clip back to the lot.



Back to the start as the Sun drops lower in the sky.



Turns out that our visitors wanted to see an actual American Alligator and Uncle David knew that there were some at Black Hammock not far away on Lake Jesup, so we headed over for a look.



American Alligators are a normal part of life in Central Florida but here we could only view the ones in captivity.



The wind was really whipping now and as we looked out over the lake we spied a Lesser Scaup feeding not too far away before the next airboat tour headed out.



Time to head home. In the parking lot, a Raccoon was busy raiding the dumpster near the cars.



Overall, a great day for a hike in the woods and excellent to have so many family members sharing in the fun. Tomorrow is Christmas and we will see everyone again before some head back to the chilly confines of the Seattle area. This was my first trip to the Little Big Econ Trail and I hope it will not be my last.