Flocks of nature photographers to descend on Lake Apopka for annual birding festival
Hundreds of birdwatchers and nature photographers will flock to Central Florida this week for the Orange Audubon Society’s sixth annual North Shore Birding Festival, a five-day gathering of eagle-eyed enthusiasts primarily focused on the diverse avian species in and around Lake Apopka.
The 2019 festival drew about 300 hobbyists from 18 states, Canada and the United Kingdom to the lake’s north shore, reputed to be the best bird-watching site in Florida. About 200 took part in the festival a year ago. Some birders understandably chickened out because of the threat of COVID-19.
But Deborah Green, Orange Audubon president, expects a larger gathering at this year’s festival, which runs Dec. 2-6.
“With most activities outdoors and COVID precautions in place, the festival creates a safe, friendly atmosphere,” Green said. “Although our festival does not have an exhibit hall for vendors, it does bring together a critical mass of leaders and participants to catch up on their common interest — birding.”
Lake Apopka, Florida’s fourth-largest lake which sits in the center of the Florida peninsula and on migration routes, often attracts rare birds.
But attendees can sign up for day trips to other destinations, too.
Kathleen Wynegar, 73, a retired engineer from Tennessee, will be among the birders flying in for this year’s festival, her fifth.
“For one thing, it’s just a whole lot of fun,” she said. “I worked a long time in an office without windows and so this is just cool: to go out to see nature, look for rare birds among all these beautiful sceneries and habitats and learn all about these little critters from people who know them well.”
She hopes to see a black rail, an elusive species of bird because it is tiny, scarce and prefers dense marshes.
Wynegar described the festival’s day trips as “a grand tour of Central Florida. You go to all these different places I had no idea even existed.”
She has signed up for “Birding by Ear,” an early-morning walking tour where birdwatchers become listeners amidst an avian cacophony.
Among other guided excursions are trips to the Florida Scrub Jay Trail in Clermont, the Ocala National Forest to search for yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and to Orlando Wetlands Park where birders have spotted roseate spoonbills, a wading bird with pink plumage and a beak like a ladle.
A schedule of the 65 destinations, costs and biographies of trip guides is available at northshorebirdingfestival.com. Some trips include lunch. Pre-registration by Dec. 1 is advised. The festival also provides attendees an opportunities to have their wildlife pictures critiqued by nature photographer Marina Scarr.
“It’s a great opportunity to see and learn how to get better shots,” Green said.
The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s online program, eBird, where bird-watching hobbyists record their sightings, lists Lake Apopka’s 20,000-acre north shore as Florida’s top site for birders. Nearly 370 species have been spotted there, more than at any inland site in the U.S., including the Everglades.
Birders spotted 163 different species at last
year’s festival.
Although some expert birders may attend the festival, it wasn’t designed for them, Green said.
“It’s mid-level birders who’ve caught the interest but would like to learn more,” she said.
There also are programs for beginners.
Many festival trips require travel along the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, an 11-mile route generally open only weekends and holidays.
A Facebook page for the Lake Apopka Wildlife
Drive, not administered by Audubon, is updated often by birders and other nature lovers, who post candid pictures of osprey and eagles hunting and eating fish. Audubon’s festival page on Facebook also offers candid snaps and program details.
All festival proceeds benefit an Orange Audubon Society fund to build a nature and environmental education center on the north shore.
Bird-watching traces its origins to John James Audubon, namesake of the famous bird conservancy.