Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

Saturday we went out to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. Last weekend it was closed because of poor road conditions brought on by the unseasonably high amount of rain this winter so we figured it would be busy. And it was. Before heading over, we stopped by the South Apopka Eagles nest to see how they were doing. The eaglet was up dancing around the nest while the adults took turns bringing in fish and nest materials.

One of the adult eagles flying in

Bald Eagle looking down at me as it is about to land on a tree

The eaglet popping up after a morning nap

Eaglet moving around the nest

Eaglet taking a good look around standing up tall

Adult Bald Eagle watching over the area around the nest

All in the family! Dad brings in a partially eaten fish while the Eaglet moves out of the way and Mom yells out from the observation branch

Adult Eagle bringing in nest materials

Taking a break from feeding the eaglet

Coming in with more nest materials

The adults in the nest

Bald Eagle resting on a limb

Bald Eagle hiding in the pine tree

Bald Eagle flying in with a freshly caught fish

Downy Woodpecker

Wilson’s Snipe taking a nap on the side of the drive

Wilson’s Snipe taking a nap along the drive near the water. Normally they’re in the brown grass where they blend in and are very hard to see.

The Wilson’s Snipe woke up briefly and showed its long beak

The Wilson’s Snipe move into a better camouflage area of brown grass and sticks

I’m not a fan of birds sitting on wires, but this Merlin was an unusual sighting

Great Blue Heron splashing around the snake it caught

Great Blue Heron taking its time finishing off its snake

Great Blue Heron showing that it ate all of its food and swallowed the snake. Say ahhh!

Great White Egret finding some sun while it stands on a post

Alligator in some deep brush with an Armored Catfish

Great Blue Heron flying past an Alligator towards the end of the drive

A very large alligator resting along the side of the drive. Probably about 11-12 feet long

American Kestrel sitting on top of a tall, dead tree

What started out as a cloudy day, turned sunny by the time we were exiting the drive. There were lots of birds that we were close enough to get photos of as well as some far out. A sub-adult Bald Eagle made a big commotion among the duck far out as it dive bombed them looking for a quick meal. It wasn’t successful in catching one but it was fun to watch. Next time hopefully it happens closer and we’ll be there to capture it all!