Here are a few birds I saw while riding our ebikes around Torry Island RV park. We were camping at South Bay County Park in South Bay, FL.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have tried to stay at Torry Island RV park instead of South Bay RV park. The road noise from Highway 27 was not pleasant and it was continuous.
The birding was most enjoyable!
~Common Gallinule
~Tricolored Heron
~White Ibis
~Little Blue Heron
~Great Egret
~Glossy Ibis
~Grey-headed Swamphen
However, the Okeechobee Lake levee, just outside of the South Bay RV park, was enjoyable to walk and ride on. South Bay to Torry Island was a two mile bike ride.
South Bay and the surrounding areas produce 57% of the Sugar Cane crops in the US. Sugar Cane fields for miles and miles.
Sugar Cane fields
Belle Glade, a neighboring town, is known for its fertile soil and sugarcane production, carrying the slogan “Her Soil is her Fortune.” The town is found on the southeast edge of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The path leading into the live oak forest is hard packed sand and covered with years of fallen leaves, making its color rusty brown. It is early evening and the light filtering through the heavily treed canopy creates long shadows. Some of the trees are huge with thick trunks and long branches giving away their age.
Ross Prairie Trail
Some of the branches are so heavy they grow toward the ground. The branches are covered with moisture loving green moss and ferns, perfect compliments to these old giants.
Ferns in the arms of a beautiful Live Oak TreeFerns growing at the base of a tree.
We are walking along the trail, enjoying the quite, Howard in the lead with Skye and I bringing up the rear. All of a sudden Howard stops in front of me and I run right into him. He softly tells me, “I saw an owl fly and it landed on a branch just ahead.” We stand still for a few seconds not wanting to scare the owl and then began slowly walking toward the tree. Howard says, “Hand me Skye so you can get closer, I will stay back.”
I walk quietly and slowly not wanting it to fly. My heart is pounding, because it looks like a Barred Owl, which I have never seen in the wild. Oh my gosh, it is a Barred Owl. I am so excited.
I don’t have my camera, but I take a photo with my phone. It isn’t a good photo, because the owl is so high up in the tree and the lighting is not the best.
Barred Owl
It doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is standing there in the forest, watching the owl. It stays perched looking around and looking down at me. This encounter was unexpected and amazing.
A tree passed its prime.
~The Barred Owl is number 388 on my Birding Life List~
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