Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive on a Bike
Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive has gotten to be very crazy on the weekends when cars can drive through. Since we were on vacation, we decided to take our e-bikes though during the week. It seems like there’s a lot more that can be seen when there aren’t lines of cars keeping the birds father back…
We were greeted by a Marsh Rabbit hiding behind a leafy weed
Black Necked Stilts are nesting
Another Marsh Rabbit enjoying breakfast
Black Necked Stilt looking in the mirror
Juvenile Lesser Yellow-legs walking through the brush
A rare Gloosy Ibis with a white face
White faced Glossy Ibis coming in for a landing
Least Bittern flying between sticks
Least Bittern snapping a tiny fish out of the water
Savannah Sparrow in a brief moment of stillness
Common Yellow Throat
Osprey about to strike the water
Osprey making another attempt at catching a fish…
If you look close, you can see the Osprey’s head in the splash of water
Like a Phoenix rising up, the Osprey springs up out of the water…
After a successful dive, the Osprey flys away with its fish
Osprey looking right at me as if to ask, “Did you Get all of that?”
Bald Eagle sitting on a post near the pump house
Least Bittern hunting
Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron
Baby Alligator swimming in the shallows
The coloring on the baby Alligators can make them hard to see in their natural environment
Immature Bald Eagle making a flyby
Barn Swallow flying extremely fast past
Barn Swallow in flight
Barn Swallows taking a rest
Barn Swallow with some nesting material. Barn Swallows nest in Florida from May-August.
Barn Swallow flying past while closing its nictitating membrane over its eyes.
Barn Swallow
Barn Swallow flying below the bridge I was standing on
Barn Swallow with its wings and tail feathers in the “speed” position
Barn Swallow flying fast and close
Caspian Terns setting up a toll booth on the path
Caspian Tern taking off
On the way home we stopped by an Eagle nest that we knew of that was on the way. One of the adults was there and the baby that was either not yet hatched or very small the last time we were there is now very big but just starting to branch.
Adult Bald Eagle in a tree near the nest.
The Eaglet isn’t flying yet, but has started to branch.
The adult Bald Eagle lifted off
Bald Eagle heading off to go fishing
Bald Eagle soaring past
The Eaglet still sitting on a branch just off the nest
That was a great day being out in fresh air and sunshine, and we got a little bit of exercise too! LAWD is always a great place to visit, especially when cars are not allowed in. Topping off the day with Bald Eagles is always good too!