It's getting close to time to leave the Canal Cottage for the season. So Saturday morning I probably should have been scrubbing stoves or cleaning refrigerators or one of the million other last-minute things that have to be done to get ready. But instead I went to Babcock Ranch.
About eighty percent (0ver 90,000 acres) of this huge historical ranch is preserved as open space, nature reserves, and agricultural use. It is owned by the State of Florida and Lee County. (Part of the ranch was sold to a developer and contains the new planned development city of Babcock Ranch that I have blogged about before.) We toured several habitats -- open lands, farmland, swamps, and lots of watery spaces.
Every habitat had its unique plant and animal life. The above in one of the swampy areas was my favorite sighting. The barred owl was a first-time bird for me! He (or she) was calling its mate -- I wish I'd taken a video to share that distinctive sound.
Great Blue Heron
Some of the (too) many feral hogs and one of the (few) Florida cracker cows that make their home on the Ranch. This now-rare breed of cattle was brought here by the Conquistadors. They are hardy and well-adapted to the Florida climate. The ranch is still a cattle operation, but according to the tour guide modern methods allow them to raise more familiar breeds nowadays. (I assume -- for better or worse -- that means fatter ones.) They will still breed and raise a few of the Cracker Cows because of the historical value.
Feral hogs cause many problems to farms and parks and they are trapped or hunted. (They were brought to Florida by DeSoto in 1539; they adapted well, and breed rapidly. It is estimated there are currently over 500,000 in the State.)
Snowy Egret
Soft-shelled Turtle
Limpkin
More alligators than I've ever seen in one place -- one area was called Alligator Ridge and I counted over 15 in the water there.
This smiling guy soon slithered into the culvert and the pond.
More pictures of the Barred Owl --
just because he was my favorite.
Thank you to the hosts of each of the following sharing opportunities, where I'm linking this week:
NATURE NOTES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE; WILD BIRD Wednesday; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING
What a fun trip - thanks for taking us all with you, Sallie!
Enjoy your vacay.
Peace :)
Posted by: GreenComotion | June 30, 2019 at 07:35 AM
I didn't know that cows could be crackers too, lol. Shoot me a line to let me know how you are when you've got a minute, Sallie.
Posted by: Jeanna | June 10, 2019 at 06:31 PM
Wonderful nature shots as always and your flying away shot is beautiful. I hope you have a good trip and break from blogging.
Posted by: Carver | May 31, 2019 at 02:49 AM
Thanks for stopping by I'd Rather B Birding this weekend, and sharing your birds! (It's been a long time since I've seen a soft shelled turtle).
Posted by: Anni | May 26, 2019 at 02:43 AM
Wonderful shots! Who has time for cleaning? ;-)
Posted by: Lady Fi | May 25, 2019 at 11:22 PM
The Barred Owl is a very good looking owl. You managed some great pictures of it.
Posted by: Adam Jones | May 25, 2019 at 12:44 PM
Wonderful photos. I love owls.
Posted by: Anu | May 25, 2019 at 07:44 AM
Hi, Sallie! Sorry to have been absent for so long.
What a great photographic essay of your trip to a really interesting area! The calling of Barred Owls is one of my favorite in Florida nature. Wonderful images!
As your fans have already noted, thank you for skipping out on your chores to bring us some beauty to make our day better.
Hope your trip back to the northwest is safe!
Posted by: Wally Jones | May 25, 2019 at 07:33 AM
Hello, Sallie
I love your Barred Owl photos, great sighting! The Cracker cow is neat looking, great photo with the pigs. Babcock Ranch looks like a great place to see the birds and critters. I would much rather go on an outing than clean house. Thanks for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.
Posted by: Eileen Wise | May 25, 2019 at 05:03 AM
The Snowy Egret is my favorite!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Posted by: Lea @ Lea's Menagerie | May 25, 2019 at 04:53 AM
Love the owl shots. So glad you put off your chores to go out and enjoy nature and share these photos. Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Peter B. | May 24, 2019 at 09:58 AM
A blogger after my own heart. Scrubbing and cleaning or getting the camera to look at something interesting? No decision there really.
You had some great finds. I love the cow and the backstory. Feral hogs are very destructive here as well. When I was building pipelines in central Texas I dealt a lot with a gazillionair landowner who was driven mad by the hogs. They kept tearing up his airstrip for his planes.
Posted by: Alan Bates | May 24, 2019 at 08:37 AM
I love seeing all of this wildlife, especially the owls. I will pass on that gator, though! lol Thanks for linking up and have a great holiday weekend.
Posted by: Michelle | May 24, 2019 at 07:28 AM
Do people hung the hogs? I'd be afraid to see a free croc like that. Who?
Posted by: Colleen LOOSELEAFNOTES | May 23, 2019 at 10:33 AM
Great photos Sallie and views of all that amazing wildlife. My first viewing of an owl was down there, in one of the swamp reserves we visited. So many wonderful places to visit in Florida. I will be putting Babcock Ranch on my bucket list for our next trip, whenever that may be. Thank you and enjoy your weekend :)
Posted by: DeniseinVA | May 23, 2019 at 09:00 AM
Sallie, I loved seeing the owl! Have a great week. Sylvia D.
Posted by: Sylvia D. | May 23, 2019 at 05:56 AM
And it was an excellent idea, Sallie ! I like a lot the smilling guy but prefer to meet the beautiful Snowy egret ! Have a nice trip to Oregon and perhaps before Colorado.
Posted by: Annie | May 23, 2019 at 05:53 AM
Marvelous tour! Thanks for taking us along.
Posted by: Linda in Virginia | May 22, 2019 at 10:30 PM
Love the wild life but would not want to get to close to those gators! Thanks for sharing! Come visit me at NanaHood.com
Posted by: Teresa | May 22, 2019 at 07:20 AM
Babcock Ranch looks like a fascinating place for a nature tour since it has several kinds of habitat. The Cracker Cows are interesting to see and it's good that these rare-breed cows are still being raised there. Seeing the barred owl must have been a treat. I hope that you've done the cleaning and packing by now. All the best.
Posted by: Linda P | May 21, 2019 at 11:58 PM
What a great place to visit! Wow, it's fun to learn bits of history like this, Sallie.
Thanks for the photos and the information about this great place.
I appreciate your contribution to 'My Corner of the World' this week!
My Corner of the World
Posted by: My Corner of the World | May 21, 2019 at 06:05 PM
Your shots of the owl particularly stand out to me.
Posted by: William Kendall | May 21, 2019 at 01:44 PM
A wonderful visit, Sallie, but the sheer number of feral hogs is a cause for great concern. They can decimate an ecosystem in a hurry. They will eat just about anything and destroy native flora and fauna. There are many accounts of the successful removal of alien species where they cause great harm and I think that the State of Florida needs to tackle this issue head on.
Posted by: David Gascoigne | May 21, 2019 at 03:57 AM
Your first sentence reminds me of myself. I can always find many more exciting things to do than housework. The photos of the ranch and birds are great. Alligators in that number are a bit scary. Hope there's enough food for them all! Good luck with your cleaning and packing up.
Posted by: Fun60 | May 20, 2019 at 11:21 PM
Such a great collection of wonderful photos, Sallie. I love the heron and the egret. Visiting the ranch sounds like a whole lot more fun than cleaning!
Posted by: Lorrie | May 20, 2019 at 08:46 PM
Congrats on seeing and getting awesome photos of the barred owl! I saw one when I was down in FL, the last one I've seen I hear them more often than see. Happy travels.
Posted by: Sondra | May 20, 2019 at 06:09 PM
Oven's can wait! It was worth the trip, although 15 alligators might have driven me back to cleaning out the fridge!
Happy days
Wren x
Posted by: little wandering wren | May 20, 2019 at 05:44 PM
Are the feral hogs as mean and dangerous as the wild boars in the southwest? I remember being scared out hiking on Catalina Island because of them running through the brush. We just got back from a nice RV stay near Seattle so we could watch the University of Washington women's softball tournament. Getting to love this RV life. - Margy
Posted by: Margy | May 20, 2019 at 04:20 PM
I would rather be nature watching than cleaning too. You made a great decision. The barred owl photos were fantastic!
Posted by: Laurie | May 20, 2019 at 04:16 PM
Hi Sally,
I love that owl! Beautiful!
Posted by: Calendula | May 20, 2019 at 12:51 PM
Extraordinary! My favorite?...the barred owl.
Posted by: Hootin' Anni | May 20, 2019 at 12:21 PM
Wow, such beautiful photos. I enjoy the all but my favorite is the Barred Owl. What a beauty it is.
Have a lovely week, Sallie.
Posted by: bill burke | May 20, 2019 at 08:52 AM
What a beautiful nature spot and fantastic photos of critters of nature ~ glad you went to the ranch!
Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Posted by: A ShutterBug Explores | May 20, 2019 at 06:22 AM
Gosh loads of wonderful wildlife there. We too have a problem with feral pigs. Time flies. It doesn't seem long ago when you were arriving in Florida.
Posted by: diane | May 19, 2019 at 11:45 PM
I am glad that instead of scrubbing stoves, etc. you went out to take all these lovely photos to share with us. The owl is cute but the alligator is scary.
Posted by: Nancy Chan | May 19, 2019 at 11:22 PM
Wow Sallie, so happy you could make more than one capture of the barred owl! What a find:):) 15 alligators, wow, kind of scary to think about. The snowy egret is such a beautiful bird. Haha, I would have gone too, if I would choose between this ranch and cleaning:):) Great choice and All seasons benefits from it! Wishing you a quick and smooth cleanup!
Posted by: Junieper/Jesh | May 19, 2019 at 10:33 PM
Wonderful animal photos! I like very much your collage style, the background color goes so wellt with the photos. Have a nice week Sallie!
Posted by: riitta k | May 19, 2019 at 10:14 PM
I love them all, but we have moreporks here in NZ now Owls.
Posted by: Amy Franks | May 19, 2019 at 08:51 PM
I'm so glad you sacrificed yourself for ow sakes to bring us these amazing shots! ;-)
Posted by: Lady Fi | May 19, 2019 at 08:37 PM
Sallie - I am so pleased that 80% of this HUGE space has been conserved, especially in Florida, which seems to get gobbled up by development after development. Your photos are evidence of the value of this area for natural diversity. Fabulous! So glad you got to see a barred owl. I adore all owls, primarily because it is so rare to see one! Thanks for "shirking" your tasks to bring this delightful post to Mosaic Monday!
Posted by: Angie | May 19, 2019 at 08:22 PM
90,000 acres! Wow. How wonderful to investigate this great area. Love the owls and I'm always excited to see a blue heron. Hope your clean up, lock up and travel back are all good!
Posted by: ellen b | May 19, 2019 at 07:41 PM
Great place and a birdie day. Love the Barred Owl. Awful about all those wild hogs.
Posted by: Gaelyn | May 19, 2019 at 07:25 PM
Wow! What an amazing place - until you looked carefully and saw all those alligators in the water! Very interesting that the pigs have gone wild and breed up so much. It has happened out here too in some places and makes lots of problems. My favorite would be that beautiful owl too. Good luck with all those cleaning jobs still to do!!
Posted by: mick | May 19, 2019 at 06:37 PM
Clean the house or go birding? Not a hard choice! That owl is wonderful.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Posted by: Stewart M | May 19, 2019 at 05:54 PM
Love your photos - I've never been to Babcock Ranch and I can see I've really missed something!
Posted by: Carol | May 19, 2019 at 05:12 PM
So many wonderful photos in this post! The barred owl is a dapper fellow (or gal). I really enjoy the fuzzy crown on the the snowy egret, like he’s a member of some punk rock band. I must admit, seeing all of those alligators in one place kind of creeped me out. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Michelle | May 19, 2019 at 03:35 PM