I’m always eager to explore new birding locations, so I trekked over to Lake County on a foggy Saturday morning to search for some migrating warblers at the Ferndale Preserve near Clermont.
It’s a 190-acre preserve on the west side of Lake Apopka that includes upland and wetland ecosystems. There’s also definite changes in elevation from its height of 165 feet above sea level and then dropping down along Lake Apopka. And, based on my morning visit, it’s a place some birds love to visit.
I came across five different types of warblers during my time at the preserve: Yellow Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler and Common Yellowthroat Warbler.
The place was also loaded with different types of butterflies, too. (And a lot of mosquitos as well, unfortunately.)
I suspect this won’t be my last visit to Ferndale Preserve.
Prothonotary Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Prothonotary Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Prothonotary Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Black-and-white Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Black-and-white Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Black-and-white Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Black-and-white Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Yellow Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Yellow Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Prairie Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Prairie Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Ferndale Preserve in Lake County, September 2024.
While I will travel across Central Florida to seek out new birds to photograph, I often overlook some pretty interesting ones hanging out in my backyard.
Though the bird migration season is winding down, there are still scores of amazing birds at Fort DeSoto Park near St. Petersburg, and I was able to photograph 16 different types of birds.
Since I started going to the Orlando Wetlands on Jan. 1, 2023, I’ve been trying – and ultimately failing – to get some decent pictures of the Bald Eagle couple who rule the roost at the park. Until now.