Lake Apopka on Father's Day

I was pondering what I wanted to do on this Father's Day and opted to take a drive along the Lake Apopa North Shore Drive to do some contemplating since this would be the first one without my Dad. I almost decided against it since there was an approaching storm headed that way but when has a little rain stopped birding?

The only problem was that the storm was coming from the East meaning we wouldn't have that nice morning light. One of the first birds I spotted was a juvenile Black-necked Stilt picking at snacks in the water.



Nearby, a juvenile Common Gallinule sat on its nest and called loudly.



The first clouds moved closer and made the morning nearly dark as I tried for my first Osprey photo.



Even with a bit more light I had to do some acrobatics inPhotoshop to show the next Osprey doing its own acrobatics during breakfast.



American Alligators were pretty active this warm morning and they were cruising most everywhere. Some days you can hardly find a few.



The last time I was out here the Green Herons were constantly flying by instead of posing. At least I had one cooperate today.



I thought I had another Green Heron fly over the road ahead of me. It wasn't until I got home to look at my images that I figured out that it was actually a juvenile Least Bittern! Didn't know they nested out here.



Something else I had never seen before was a female Red-winged Blackbird catching a dragonfly to eat. Thought they only ate seeds. I guess mostly...



There were a lot of Anhinga around today and one female perched on a branch next to the drive.



I rounded the next bend and spotted an Osprey with a large fish. He just looked at me like, "Don't even think about it!"



Another Osprey flew in just below the first bird on a perfectly placed branch. I eased forward whispering, "Please don't move..." but he decided to take flight as I snapped. I think I like this shot even better than the one I was hoping for.



As usual, you loose count of the number of Common Gallinules at some point. Still a bunch of juveniles around.



I was pleased to have a couple of Common Ground Dove around, especially at this spot. They are typically seen near the end of the drive.



Hunkered down on the bank of a canal was a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron.



Male Red-winged Blackbirds are always calling from branches all over the property.



Just below him was a young American Alligator prowling though the water as the rain began to fall.



Can't recall seeing so many Bladderwort blooms out here. Perhaps I was never here at the right time. There were large rafts of them all over the back stretch.



Just before the last big turn heading toward the swallow area, a female Boat-tailed Grackle hopped up to take a look around.



Not too much farther along, a Pied-billed Grebe surfaced with a tadpole.



It spent most of the time flinging it around and diving back under water to retrieve it again. It then began to thrash it about to tear off smaller piece. Made me smile for some reason. It was really shaking that thing!



Once it made a small enough collection of pieces it began to eat them one by one.



A juvenile Little Blue Heron paused for a moment before continuing to forage along the road.



Another Black-necked Stilt family was feeding a bit farther into the Marsh with the parents flanking their chick as they picked through the grasses.



This shot reminds me of an Audubon painting the way it is posed.



I really was happy with this shot of the juvenile Black-necked Stilt. The background was perfect and those feathers are just to so pretty.



In between showers, a Rainbow weakly appeared for a minute or so before being swallowed up again.



Speaking of swallow, I was finally at the area where the Barn Swallows nest and many adults were there with juveniles in tow. I didn't even try for a flight shot today. Not in these conditions.



A relaxing tour of the property. Happy with some of the photos. Missing Dad.

Lake Apopka North Shore Drive, Pt. 2

Time for pass Number 2! Back at the first jog, I stopped to get another family shot to the Black-necked Stilts still feeding in the marsh.



My second American Alligator of the day was a tiny guy. Maybe 2-years-old.



Nearby, I had a nice surprise by spotting an American Coot in the canal. This species typically is found only in Winter in these parts though I have had one stay in Orlando through one Summer a few years ago.



I hurried down the first stretch realizing I hadn't taken a good shot of the Pump House the first time around.



Common Gallinules in all age ranges are present right now along the Drive. This little newborn reminded me of a tiny dinosaur just up and walking through the reeds.



I only saw a few grackles during my visit today and only got a shot of a female Boat-tailed Grackle at one spot.



The last American Alligator sighting of the morning was a good one as this fella was basking in the rays of the rising Sun.



I was now back at the Barn Swallow curve and was taking shots of a juvenile calling for food when this bird flew in next to the youngster. My photos made quite a stir on the local forums and I will talk about it in a future posting.



You cannot imagine how hard it was to get a shot of any of the Cattle Egrets. They were all over but flushed any time you got close to them. At the swallow curve I had a small flock that let me get close enough for a couple of shots. They look great in breeding plumage.



A Common Ground Dove was walking along the roadway and I tried to get a shot of it on the ground but it kept flying ahead of me until finally cruising up to the wires.



Most of the Snowy Egrets were further out in the canals but every now and then I would find one close to the Drive.



Same with the Great Egrets.



White Ibis were mostly fly-overs but this one was sitting in the marsh fairly close.



It is fun to see so many local birds in breeding plumage, including the Glossy Ibis.



Usually you could only see their backs as they fed in the grasses so I took a shot to catch some iridescence on one of the birds.



The last bird of the morning was a solitary Osprey up in a snag before the road turns toward the highway. The last mile is pretty quite and more forested. It may be more interesting when the Winter birds come our way but for now...



This is a remarkable trail along Lake Apopka and I hope to visit it more in the future. However, I fear it will be a madhouse come Fall/Winter. Could be bumper to bumper. We shall see.

Lake Apopka North Shore Drive, Pt. 1

I have been waiting to get out to the new Lake Apopka North Shore Drive. Folks have been reporting fun birds but the drive is only open Friday-Sunday and my weekends have been a bit too crazy. Today I finally got my chance to head out.

I wanted to get there as soon as it opened and was greeted by a nice bright Moon before dawn in downtown Orlando on the way to the drive.



The beginning of the drive is at the end of Lust Road where many birders have gone for years but as far as you could go was the gate which is now open and has a new sign welcoming visitors.



Many carloads of birders were already on the Drive ahead of me. At the first little job was a very boisterous Black-necked Stilt family. Every time the chick would wander a bit too far, Mom would start calling loudly for all to stay away.



Eventually, the Black-necked Stilt chick would return to a parent's side to feed closer. I tried to get some shots of the parents attempting to shoo off a Glossy Ibis to no avail. The Ibis didn't seem to care too much about the fuss.



The best thing about the Lake Apopka North Shore Drive is that it heads due West for most of the time so the lighting is perfect in the early morning.



Dragonflies were all over at daybreak. Occasionally one would light atop a swaying grassy stalk.



Green Herons were flying across the drive all morning but never settled in for a photo. Tricolored Herons were a bit more cooperative.



Common Gallinules were also abundant but you don't often see one sitting up on an exposed branch!



Looking over the edge of the road I spotted an Anhinga making a catch and had to strain over the passenger seat to get a snap.



I was actually surprised I didn't see too many American Alligators out today. I have seen more hiking the North Shore in the past. Some BIG ones in some of the canals.



Great Blue Herons prowled the edges of the water but I didn't see any score a breakfast on my rounds.



Red-winged Blackbirds were beyond counting. They were all over with most males calling and defending territories.



Not a lot of vultures around this morning but I did have a nice close fly-by of an adult Turkey Vulture.



This early in the morning the Ospreys were feeding and feasting all up and down the Drive. I will devote another post exclusively about Ospreys soon.



Most of the vegetation is weedy shrubs, grasses, and Cattails but every now and then a splash of color would appear like the white Moon Glory blossoms.



Down by the Pump House turn a female Anhinga rested on a structure across the water.



I decided to take the righthand turn past the Pump House not knowing there was another stretch closer to the lake. I would take that portion of the drive next time around. This lane was fairly bird free and the only big bird I spotted first was a Limpkin. Too bad I could only get a shot through the wind shield.



On the opposite side, a wet male Anhinga tried to stay out of view.



At the end of this northerly drive I started to see Barn Swallows swooping over the canal at the bend. As I turned to head toward a flock sitting on wires ahead I noticed a Great Blue Heron sunning in the roadway. It is always fun to see this behavior.



Just past the heron, a pair of Roseate Spoonbills were crossing to reach the canal and fields to the North.



The Barn Swallows here were copious with only a few resting on the wires. Many more were feeding and returning to nests under a small bridge over the canal. I ended up with a lot of swallow photos (with a rather interesting discovery) that warrant them their own post in the future, as well.



The final bird shot on this pass was a female Red-winged Blackbird that was searching through the grasses for a snack.



I thought of just heading home then but, as mentioned earlier, I found that there was another spur of the Drive so I swung back around to take one more pass and hoped for some interesting shot. Glad I did. Stay tuned...