Schedule of Events:

Friday, December 6, 2024

Friday 1. Hal Scott: Red-cockaded Woodpeckers – Mostly driving, some walking.

Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park, 4500 Dallas Blvd, Orlando, FL 32833. The actual entrance is located at: https://goo.gl/maps/a7LNonHEP729WuWt5.  $50, bring your own lunch.  Leaders: Graham Williams (St. Johns River Water Management District), Katrina Noland (St. Johns River Water Management District) and Lorri Lilja (Orange Audubon Society). 5:30  a.m.‒10:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 15. The vast expanse of pine flatwoods and open prairies of Hal Scott Preserve straddles the Econlockhatchee River in eastern Orange County, protecting the resources of this beautiful river.  This eco-buggy trip will be led by St. Johns River Water Management District biologists and may include sightings of alligators, deer, gopher tortoises, otters and bobcats. The trip starts at 5:30 a.m. to give us the best chance to see Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs) as the birds awaken from their roosts. Then we will explore the pine flatwoods and Econlockhatchee River swamp for other resident and overwintering species. Sightings, in addition to our target Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, may include Red-headed, Hairy, Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers as well as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and possibly Northern Flicker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Sedge and Marsh Wren, Whip-poor-will, Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, King Rail, Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle and Barred Owl.  For information about the preserve, see https://www.sjrwmd.com/lands/recreation/hal-scott/

​​​​​​​Friday 2. Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area – Mostly driving, some walking.

Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area, 3365 Taylor Creek Road, Christmas, FL 32709. $50, bring your own lunch. Leaders: David Simpson (Birding with David Simpson),  Lynn Proenza (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) and and Casey Dorsch (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). 6:30  a.m.‒11:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 15. Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area is a 28,000 acre state property east of Orlando south of SR 50. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists will take us on a trailer ride to some of the most wildlife-rich areas of the preserve. Tosohatchee is a mosaic of marshes, swamps, pine flatwoods and hammocks shaped by alternating cycles of fire and flood. It provides habitat for wading birds, marsh birds, waterfowl, raptors and pineland specialties. Threatened and endangered species found here include Bald Eagle, Wood Stork, eastern indigo snake, gopher tortoise, and Florida black bear. Possible sightings include such as Bachman’s Sparrow, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird and Red-headed Woodpecker.  

​​​​​​​Friday 3. Early Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive – Mostly driving, some walking.

Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, 2850 Lust Rd, Apopka and McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora. $50, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Chris Newton and Bill Asteriades. 6:30 a.m.‒11:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 16. The trip will traverse the canals and wetlands of the Lake Apopka North Shore in search of ducks and wading birds and then explore the North Shore’s sandy upland edge near Ranch Road. The trip has driving access where normally only hiking or bicycling is allowed. Possible sightings include Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Wood Stork, Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Wood Duck, Mottled Duck, Sora, American Bittern and Sandhill Crane, along with most of North America’s wading bird species and other waterfowl listed under Trip 3. Raptors usually seen are Osprey, Red- shouldered Hawk, Barn Owl, American Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon. We are likely to see Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped and Black-and-white warblers, American Redstart, Orange-crowned and Prairie warblers and Ovenbird. While most of our breeding Black-necked Stilts and Least Bitterns are on their more southerly wintering grounds, we'll be looking and listening for the few that are recorded each year on Christmas Bird Counts. Other possible sightings are Roseate Spoonbill, Black Skimmer and American Avocet. As many as 13 sparrow species are seen, including rarities like LeConte’s and Clay-colored. Western flycatcher species like Ash-throated and Vermillion are seen most years and Scissor-tailed, Least, Western, Cassin’s and Tropical have been seen. White-faced Ibis are out-of- range birds that are seen many years. Groove-billed Anis from the Southwest were seen each winter between 2015 and 2017, and a Smooth-billed Ani from South Florida was an exciting find in winter 2019. With such a large restoration area on the shore of Florida’s 4th largest lake, in the middle of the Florida peninsula, off-course rarities frequently show up. Past rarities have included Say’s Phoebe, Rough-legged Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Eurasian Kestrel, Wilson’s Phalarope, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Whooping Crane, White-cheeked Pintail and Ross’ Goose. With skilled leaders and many eyes, we will be searching for what has turned up. Lists from past festivals are posted at the bottom of the front page of the festival website.

​​​​​​​Friday 4. Ferndale Preserve: Wintering Songbirds – Walking

Ferndale Preserve, 19220 County Rd 455, Clermont, FL 34715. $50. Leaders: Gallus Quigley (Lake County Parks and Trails) and Greg Gensheimer (Green Mountain Scenic Byway). 7:30 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 14. Ferndale Preserve is a 192-acre Lake County Preserve on the western shore of Lake Apopka, a few miles from Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in peninsular Florida. We will bird on foot from the parking lot to the shore of Lake Apopka and back. With a mix of red maple-dominated wetlands, remnant oak hammocks, and other habitats in various stages of restoration, over 190 bird species have been recorded in the area. Possible sightings include wintering songbirds, like Painted Buntings and Ash- throated Flycatcher, and sparrows, like Savannah, Swamp, Vesper and Grasshopper. With luck, we may see Le Conte’s, Clay-colored and more of the 12 sparrow species known to winter in this area.

Friday 5. Bilingual Photo Trip (Viaje de fotografía) – Walking. Lake Apopka Wildlife Dr., 2850 Lust Rd, Apopka, FL 32703. $30, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Ed Maldonado. 8:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 10. Avoiding regular weekend visitors to the Drive, we will settle at great spots for birding and photography. The group may split into those focused on birding and those focused on photography. Note that your exit will be through the Drive, so allow time and bring provisions.

Friday 6 – ​​​​​​​Pineland & Hammock Specialties at Wekiwa Springs State Park – Walking. Wekiwa Springs State Park, 1800 Wekiwa Cir, Apopka, FL 32712. $40, bring your own lunch, plus park entrance fee ($4-$6). Leaders: Mary Soule (Orange Audubon Society), Craig Watson and Pamela Ford (Carolina Bird Club). 8:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 14. Wekiwa Springs State Park is a 7,000-acre state park that is considered one of the crown jewels of Florida’s award-winning state park system.  Possible sightings include pineland specialties, including Brown-headed Nuthatches, Bachman’s Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, Eastern Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, and overwintering songbirds.

Friday 7. Skimmers, Terns and Shorebirds, Disappearing Island – Boat trip, some walking.

Marine Discovery Center, meet at North Causeway boat ramp, 116 North Causeway, New Smyrna Beach, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169. $75, includes boat trip. Bring your own lunch or restaurants are available nearby (see Friday 11). Leaders: Michael Brothers (Florida Ornithological Society), Luis Gles (Woodstars Birding and Nature Tours), Mariah Hryniewich (PhoneSkope), John Groskopf (Florida Ornithological Society) and David Hartgrove (Halifax Audubon Society). 8:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 25. Disappearing Island is a sandbar island located inside of Ponce Inlet, in between New Smyrna Beach and the town of Ponce Inlet. It is a tidal flat that becomes dry at low tide and provides a relatively safe place for birds to rest between foraging. Its rich bird life throughout the seasons was discovered by gull expert Michael Brothers when he was Executive Director of the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, and we are lucky that Michael enjoys showing off this area and how to identify the gulls, terns and shorebirds. We will travel to Disappearing Island in the Marine Discovery Center’s pontoon boat and along the way learn about the Mosquito Lagoon. The Marine Discovery Center is a festival sponsor. 

Friday 8. Trimble Park – Walking (moderate). Trimble Park, 5802 Trimble Park Rd, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $35, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Kathy Rigling (Orange Audubon Society) and Alex DeBear (Young Birders Club). 8:00a.m. - 11:00a.m. Maximum participants: 12. Trimble Park is an Orange County park located near Mt. Dora on an isthmus between Lake Beauclair and Lake Carlton. Spanish moss-draped live oaks line the lake shore. The oaks and other trees should be full of over-wintering songbirds, as we walk the 1.3-mile loop trail. Possible sightings include Peregrine Falcon, Yellow-throated Warbler, Sora, Anhinga, and other songbirds, wetland and water birds. 

New! Friday Trip 9. Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge – Walking, 1 mile roundtrip for the "forest loop" plus 1.4 miles around one of the marsh dikes. Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, De Leon Springs, FL 32130. We will meet at the pine flatwoods parking lot, which is 0.6 miles further down the road from the Visitors' Center at 2045 Mud Lake Road. Once you see the Visitor's Center entrance, keep driving to get to the refuge entrance. The road becomes narrow and unpaved, but you're on the right path. Cross the railroad tracks, enter through the open gate and the parking lot is on the right hand side. $50, bring your own lunch (or – on your own – you can have lunch afterwards at nearby DeLeon Springs State Park ($6 admission) with its popular Old Sugar Mill Pancake House. You can bird that lovely park). Leaders: Danny Young (Young Bear Environmental) and Tim Hardin (Alachua Audubon). 8:00 a.m.‒11:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 16. Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 as a migratory bird refuge, part of five million-plus acres purchased by US Fish & Wildlife Service with proceeds from the Federal Duck Stamp Program. It borders the St. Johns River and preserves 22,000 acres of the river's vast grassland marsh and floodplain swamp. We will walk a loop from the parking lot, start in the flatwoods, traverse a bottomland forest, walk out to the marsh area and  loop around a marsh cell. Possible sightings are American Bitterns, Bald Eagle, Wood Stork, warblers and marsh birds.  

​​​​​​​Friday 10. Learning About Birds by Drawing, Waterfowl Edition – Indoor/outdoor Workshop. University of​​​​​​​ Florida's Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, 2725 S Binion Rd, Apopka, FL 32703, 2.6 miles south of the entrance to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. Adults $25. Students and children $10, with registered adult. (To secure discounted prices, email [email protected]). Leader: Tricia Newton, with assistance by Susan Thome-Barrett. 9:00 a.m.‒12:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 10. Indoor session will be 9:00 a.m.‒10:15 a.m.; Field session: 10:30 a.m.‒12:00 p.m. on a nearby site (depending on what we find scouting). Bring your own lunch, snacks and water, plus big hat or umbrella (there is no shade in the area where we will be doing our field portion). Also bring a folding chair. Materials provided, or bring your own. In this workshop, you will learn some bird anatomy that will help in field identification of our target birds, waterfowl, plus leave with some drawings you are proud of. To best utilize what you have learned, look for trips during the rest of the festival that will see waterfowl. 

Friday 11. Oystercatchers, Plovers and Clapper Rails –Walking on jetty and beach. Meet and eat lunch at Our Deck Down Under restaurant, 78 Dunlawton Ave, Port Orange, FL 32127. $40. Additional $10 parking at Lighthouse Point Park, plus cost of lunch. Leaders: John Groskopf, Luis Gles, Mariah Hryniewich  and David Hartgrove. 11:30 a.m.‒3:00 p.m. Maximum participants: 20; carpooling encouraged. Those who have driven all the way to New Smyrna Beach for the Disappearing Island trip will probably have missed a few specialty birds of the area. Long-time local birder David Hartgrove will show us as many species as possible in this Leader’s Choice add-on trip. Those on Friday 7 will drive north about 20 minutes from the Marine Discovery Center, cross the Dunlawton Bridge and reunite at the restaurant Our Deck Down Under, meeting there by 11:30 a.m. While enjoying lunch on the deck, we will scope for oystercatchers, Reddish Egrets and other birds there in the oyster bars. Then we will travel south through the town of Ponce Inlet, with a quick stop at a Clapper Rail spot, on to Lighthouse Point Park ($10 per car parking), where we will walk the jetty in search of the Purple Sandpiper. This rarity has been seen the last several winters at this site, although it sometimes arrives from the north later than our festival so is not guaranteed. Northern Gannets are possible offshore. A walk on the beach may yield Piping Plovers, and the chance to study winter gulls, terns and shorebirds. Lighthouse Point Park is a beautiful, well-preserved beach park and enjoyable to visit even if we miss some target birds. The Ponce Inlet lighthouse is the third tallest in the U.S. after Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) and Cape Charles (Virginia).

Friday 12. Afternoon Leader's Choice, Lake Apopka North Shore.  – Mostly driving, some walking. McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora 32757. $45. 12:30 p.m.‒ 3:30 p.m. Leaders: Chris Newton and Gary Steinberg. Maximum participants: 16. For possible sightings, see information for Fri 3. 

Friday 13. Afternoon Leader's Choice, Lake Apopka North Shore.  – Mostly driving, some walking. McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora 32757. $45. 12:30 p.m.‒ 3:30 p.m. Leaders: Craig Watson, Pam Ford and Kathy Rigling. Maximum participants: 14. For possible sightings, see information for Fri 3. 

Friday 14. Techniques for Successful Nature Photography Workshop – Indoor Classroom Session. UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research & Education Center, 2725 S. Binion Road Apopka, FL 32703. This is a two-part workshop. $85, price includes Saturday morning field portion. Leader: Jennifer Warner, Wildside Nature Tours. 12:30p.m.‒3:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 16. Topics include how to improve your images through the use of best techniques, select gear, solve problems in the field, and see nature from a documentary perspective. The Saturday morning field session (un-numbered) is on the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.

Friday 15. Caracara Quest in E. Seminole County – Walking.

Meeting spot to be emailed to participants. Leaders will be scouting in advance and choose exact start location based on what they have found. $50. Leaders: Scott Simmons and Karen Hamblett. 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 14. The Little Big Econ State Forest includes the 1,646-acre Kilbee Tract, which abuts the St. Johns River near its confluence with the Econlockhatchee River. Caracaras have been seen in the area. The group may split up to check two locations, then reunite. You will be emailed your exact start location. Possible sightings include Crested Caracara, Bald Eagle, Wilson’s Snipe, and wintering songbirds. Please note, sighting Caracaras has been achieved in past trips but nothing is guaranteed.

Friday 16. Birding by Kayak – Wekiva River – Kayak or canoe trip.

Wekiwa Springs State Park, 1800 Wekiwa Cir, Apopka, FL 32712. $10 for trip; $50 for 3 hours kayak rental (paid at the park concession on afternoon of the trip) or bring your own kayak. Leader: Alan Shapiro (Orange Audubon Society). 12:45 p.m.‒ 4:00 p.m. Maximum participants: 10. Plus park entrance fee ($4-$6) plus Possible sightings include Limpkin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Red-shouldered Hawk, Barred Owl, herons and egrets. 

New! Friday 17. Birds in Flight – Apopka Birding Park, Walking. Apopka Birding Park, 2923 Lust Road, Apopka, FL 32703 to the right of the entrance to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. $40. 1:00 p.m-3:30 p.m. Leaders: David Simpson and Mark Hainen​​​​​​​.   Learn to recognize and better photograph birds in flight from these experts. Take the opportunity to bird around Orange Audubon's new nature center site in which habitat restoration will soon be starting.

Friday Keynote, Dinner: "Leaders' Favorite Birding Hotspots: Travelogues," moderated by Chris Newton. UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research & Education Center, 2725 S. Binion Road Apopka $30 regular, $20 student, $10 youth up to 17. 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Dinner at 5 p.m., presentation at 5:30 p.m.

Date: December 5 - 9, 2024