I’ve been a member of the Orange Audubon Society since last year and recently renewed my membership. But it wasn’t until Sunday, April 14 that I attended a birding tour with the group.
The spot was at Mead Garden in Winter Park, a wonderful oasis in our urban area and a magnet for a surprising number of birds. The Audubon group included 20-25 of us, with three experienced birders leading the walk around the park.
And it certainly was interesting and educational.
I had visited Mead Garden a couple of times to try to photograph birds but I really didn’t know where to look for them there. I stumbled across a rare Wilson’s Warbler last October, and just a few days before the Audubon trip I spotted a Baltimore Oriole in a tree. But this time the guides helped point out a number of birds and where to find them in the park.
Among the ones I saw and photographed was a new-to-me bird: A Yellow-billed Cuckoo (see above and below).
As I said, it was a great trip and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in birding.
