Circle B

Today I went to Circle B in Lakeland. I’ve been seeing photos of Great Horned Owls with their Owlet and went with finding them the mission. When I arrived, no owls. The tree and marked off area where they’ve been seen had no owls. So I walked the park for a couple hours, seeing a good variety of birds and other wildlife. As I was leaving, I decided to try the owls again. Still nothing. Suddenly another photographer called to me. They had just spotted one of the adult owls just down the nearby trail. I went with them back to the spot and we couldn't find it. After looking around for about 10 minutes, I was about to call it a day when I spotted the baby owlet with its mama up near the top of a tree! Finally success!

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks flying in with the sun lite fog behind them.

Pileated Woodpecker calling out to another nearby. Lots of little flies around it.

Black Crowned Night Heron along the lake

Male Osprey not looking too happy that I’m watching him eat breakfast.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler in the moss

Young Raccoon walking along the trail

Lots of Yellow-Rumped Warblers.

Blue Gray Gnat Catcher in a rare moment of stillness.

Cormorant swimming around with a large fish.

Bald Eagle family at their nest on the other side of the lake. The Eaglet in the nest is getting big!

The elusive Great Horned Owlet way up high in a tree was very curious about who is down there with a camera…

…and it was curious about what’s underneath mom.

As more people walked by, the Owlet had to check them out.

Mama Great Horned Owl and her Owlet doing some preening.

More preening

The Owlet watches as mom jumps down to a lower branch before flying off.

A big wing stretch showing off those flight feathers…

…and then a butt lift to show the still downey feathers on its belly.

Such a beautiful owl in the mossy tree top

While not one of my usual stops, Circle B turned out to be really good today. Finding the Great Horned Owlet really made it worth it. They have such great natural camouflage, you can stare right at them and not see them. The one today was only visible from one small spot and it was staring at us photographers wondering if we were ever going to find it.