On New Year’s Eve Day, we headed to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg to check out their trails and area known for great bird watching. Not only does the 245-acre park have wild fowl, but they have a bird of prey aviary with eagles, falcons, and various owls (including a one-eyed great horned owl).

Being the day before the holiday the park closed early so our self-guided tour was a bit rushed. We still got to walk out on the boardwalks to an island in Lake Maggiore and spot a pretty large alligator hanging out in the sun. On the walk back we spot a gopher tortoise lumbering about. Trey had just asked me about a sign telling visitors to not bother the endangered reptiles and I told him we probably wouldn’t see one since they are so rare. Seconds later… tada!