Lake Apopka

     The 20,009 acre Lake Apopka in the St. John's Water Management District of Central Florida is a model of reclamation projects aimed at reestablishing former heavily polluted farmlands to functioning wetlands.  The area is well on its way to recovery and is now a favorite site among Florida birders.  One of the major attractions is the 11 mile Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, part of the more than 20 miles of trails in the refuge.

     We joined friends from the Halifax River Audubon Society on a warm partly cloudy day for a drive around the 11 mile North Shore Loop.  As we arrived, we were greeted by one of the Florida specialties, a flyover by a small flock of Fulvous Whistling ducks.

Fulvous whistling ducks

Ash-throated flycatcher

     Over the same fields, we observed Northern harriers, Savannah sparrows, and Red-shouldered hawks.  Across these fields, we found another of our hoped-for target birds, the Ash-throated flycatcher.  Last year, at about this same time, we found an Ash-throated in the same tree and wonder if it could possibly be the same bird.  This species is generally found in the far western states of the country.  The bird's habitat is semi-arid deserts and in the fall, most vacate the much of the US other than southwestern Arizona and southern California.  Still, a few make their way to the east coast, and it is not unheard of to find this species here in the winter months.  Always a great bird for the Florida year-list.

Vermillion flycatcher

     A third target of our trip was yet another member of the Family Tyrannidae , the Vermillion flycatcher.      This handsome bird is again most often found out west from Arizona to southern Texas, but each year, we seem to find one or two individuals which have wandered east into Volusia and Orange counties of Florida.  Typical habitat for the Vermillions is stream side and along the edges of ponds.  Our Vermillion was a juvenile male with a bit more red plumage than is seen is this somewhat distant photo.  As we watched and photographed the flycatcher, one of our number noticed a juvenile Black-crowned night-heron behind us.

Juvenile Black-crowned night-heron

     Distinguishing between young Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned night-herons can be a daunting task until you learn some basic morphological differences.  As can be easily seen in the photo of our bird seen above, the Black-crowned species has a sharp pointed bill as opposed to the more blunted bill of the Yellow-crowned.  The leg colour is another give-away as the Black will have yellower legs.  Finally, carefully scrutinising the bill colour is an easy way to tell the two apart.  The Yellow-crowned tend to have all black bills, while the Black-crowned have bi-color black and yellow bills as is easily seen in this photo of our night-heron seen today.

Painted bunting

     Finally, among the many other beautiful species seen today, the Painted bunting is one that always is a joy to discover.  We often find this spectacularly rainbow plumaged species during the winter months at feeders across the state, but to see the bird out in the more wild and natural habitat of Lake Apopka Wildlife Management Area is a special treat.  This bunting was found foraging along the ground at the edges of low shrubs lining one of the trails....a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful day out on the trails of Lake Apopka.