We recently attended the Lake Apopka Wildlife Festival and Birdapalooza, a fantastic event sponsored by the Orange Audubon Society. This festival offered a great mix of paid and free birding tours, live music, and other entertainment. A unique highlight for us was the opportunity to visit a bird banding station.
Inspired by a “Regular Guy”
Our weekend began on Saturday afternoon with a keynote dinner presented by Greg Miller, a name familiar to anyone who has followed our Little Big Year journey. Greg’s 1998 effort was a key inspiration for us, and it was a thrill to hear him speak. His primary message was simple yet powerful: he is just a regular guy who did something he loved. We enjoyed hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of how his quest became a book and how everyone rooted for him as the underdog against competitors with unlimited resources. Greg also served as a consultant on the movie The Big Year, and his anecdotes made us eager to watch it again to catch all the details we had missed.
A Tour with a Dream Team
On Sunday morning, we met our tour group at the McDonald Canal Pavilion, with a leadership dream team that included Greg Miller himself, Gallus Quigley, David Simpson, and Deborah Green. We carpooled with a lovely couple from Quebec, Diane and Jean. Having birded the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive many times, we were excited to explore the restricted areas that we hadn’t seen before. Our leaders let us know that our target birds were the Groove-billed Ani and the Ash-throated Flycatcher.
The wind was blowing at 15-25 mph, making it a challenge to spot smaller passerines. Our first three stops were unsuccessful for the flycatcher, though we did see some great birds, including a female Painted Bunting and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. At our next stop for the Groove-billed Ani, Sharon was the first to spot the bird. This was an unbelievable week for her, as she had seen a Smooth-billed Ani just the weekend before at Fort DeSoto Park!
We continued our tour of Lake Apopka, adding six duck and four hawk species to our list, along with the usual herons and egrets. Limpkins, Glossy Ibis, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and a flyover of a Wilson’s Snipe made for a fantastic day.
A Surprise Sighting
After a splendid lunch, we went back out to explore new areas. The highlight of the afternoon was spotting a Barn Owl in an abandoned building, and we’re grateful that Joe Dunn was kind enough to share his photo. A juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk also posed nicely for our group.
While we saw many great birds, we missed some too, but that’s what keeps us coming back. This is definitely a festival we recommend and will attend again. Over 100 species were seen throughout the event.
It was especially meaningful to bird with Greg Miller after our Big Year and exchange stories about all the places we had visited. We look forward to the next time our paths cross.
Trip Summary:
- Total Species: 64
- Life Birds: 0
Next up: Miami Parrots
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