North Shore Birding Festival

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, December 7, 2024 

Sat 1. Sunrise Photography and Birding – Mostly driving, some walking.

McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $50, includes box lunch. Leaders: Lynn Marie Folts, Philip Lintereur  and Eric Moore. 6:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 12. Lake Apopka has remarkable opportunities for sunrises from northern locations like Clay Island, and sunsets from Magnolia Park in Apopka and Newton Park in Winter Garden. Sunrise will occur at 7:02 a.m. on this date. It takes a while to drive on the dirt roads of the North Shore, so we will meet at the McDonald Canal Pavilion at 6:00 a.m. and drive through normally locked gates to the Clay Island observation tower overlooking beautiful Lake Apopka. After sunrise, we will bird and explore other areas of the North Shore before returning to the McDonald Canal to eat a box lunch. Your trip leaders will provide both photo and bird identification tips throughout the morning. Possible sightings: See 3.

Saturday 2. Birding by Ear – Walking. 

McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $50, includes box lunch. Leaders: Scott Simmons (Learn Outdoor Photography) and David Simpson (Birding with David Simpson). 6:30 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 16. This walking field workshop will focus on recognizing birds by their sounds. In Florida birds are not as vocal in December as they are in breeding season, but there are still vocalizations that can help with identification. The early morning start time may allow us to hear owls and even see and hear American Woodcocks. Trip tip: To get a head start on this walk, download the Merlin app for your phone and explore the Sound recognition feature. Also review sounds posted on the website of Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Particularly review sounds of Common Gallinule, Red-winged Blackbird and Boat-tailed Grackle, as these are our most vocal wetland species. Possible sightings: See Fri 3.

Saturday 3. Big Day Lake Apopka North Shore, Western Side – Mostly driving, some walking.

McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $85, includes box lunch. This year we will not have vans for the Big Day trips, but carpooling will be required so we have no more than 3 cars. Choose another trip if you don't want to carpool. Leaders: Karen Hamblett and Lorri Lilja. 6:30 a.m.‒3:00 p.m. Maximum participants: 10. This trip will explore the western part of the North Shore from McDonald Canal all day with lunch at the canal. There will be three Big Day trips going at the same time plus a Young Birders trip, and a competition for seeing the most species will ensue. This will be an "Everyone seen it? Let's move on" kind of trip, not the best for photographers. Possible sightings: See Fri 3. 

Saturday 4. Big Day Birding Lake Apopka North Shore – Mostly driving, some walking. Lake Apopka Wildlife Dr, 2850 Lust Rd, Apopka, McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mt Dora. Leaders: Tim Hardin and Matt Richardson. 6:30 a.m.‒3:00 p.m. $85, includes box lunch. Maximum participants: 10. This trip will explore the western part of the North Shore from McDonald Canal all day with lunch at the canal. There will be three Big Day trips going at the same time plus a Young Birders trip, and a competition for seeing the most species will ensue. This will be an "Everyone seen it? Let's move on" kind of trip, not the best for photographers. Possible sightings: See Fri 3. 

Saturday Trip 5. Big Day Lake Apopka North Shore, Western Side – Mostly driving, some walking. McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757.  6:30 a.m.‒3:00 p.m. $85, includes box lunch. Leaders: Chris Newton and John Thomton (the winning team last year). Maximum participants: 10. This all-day trip will explore the western part of the North Shore from McDonald Canal all day with lunch at the canal. There will be three Big Day trips going at the same time plus a Young Birders trip, and a competition for seeing the most species will ensue. This will be an "Everyone seen it? Let's move on" kind of trip, not the best for photographers. Possible sightings: See Fri 3. 

Saturday 6. Young Birders Big Day – Mostly driving, some walking.

McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $25 for youth participants and parents, includes box lunch. Ages 8-17; younger than 16 must be accompanied by a paid adult. Leaders:  John Groskopf, Kathy Rigling and Ethan Landreville. 7:00 a.m.‒3:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 16.  Possible sightings: See Fri 3. Even though the Young Birders Big Day starts a half hour later than the other two, remember that the youngsters have very sharp eyes.

Saturday (unnumbered). Techniques for Successful Nature Photography Workshop (Part Two of Friday 14) – Field Trip – Mostly driving, some walking. Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, 2850 Lust Rd, Apopka, FL 32703. This is part two of Friday 14, Techniques for Successful Nature Photography Workshop and you will have paid for it in registering for that trip. Includes box lunch at McDonald Canal. Leaders: Jennifer Leigh Warner (Wildside Nature Tours) with Jack Horton (Orange Audubon Society). 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Maximum participants: 16. Meet just inside the Wildlife Drive entrance gate at the welcome shelter on the left. Local birder and photographer Jack Horton will assist Jennifer to lead the group out of the way of weekend traffic on the Wildlife Drive to a spot where participants can practice techniques learned in her Friday 14 classroom workshop.  

New! Saturday 7. 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. $35. Leaders: Luis Gles, Mariah Hryniewich and Maxfield Weakley.  7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 14. Learn to recognize and better photograph birds in flight from these experts. Luis and Mariah are the Florida Keys Hawkwatchers and are masters at identifying birds on the wing. Max is an excellent photographer who enjoys sharing tips. Take the opportunity to bird around Orange Audubon's new nature center site, in which habitat restoration will soon be starting.

​​​​​​​Saturday 8. Pine Meadows: Sparrows, Buntings, & Other Wintering Songbirds – Walking

Pine Meadows Conservation Area, 2280 Pine Meadows Golf Course Rd, Eustis, FL 32726. $45, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Gallus Quigley (Lake County Parks and Trails) and Gigi DelPizzo (Orange Audubon Society). 7:30 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 12. Pine Meadows Conservation Area is a 770-acre Lake County conservation area with open water, wetlands, wet meadow and a small upland area of pine flatwoods. Habitat restoration continues to improve the wetlands, uplands and meadows to increase biodiversity of fish, birds and other animals. Possible sightings: Nearly 120 bird species have been seen, including the Henslow’s Sparrow and Bald Eagle.

​​​​​​​Saturday 9. Birding By Bicycle on the Lake Apopka Loop Trail – Bicycling. McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $50, includes box lunch. Leaders: Alan Shapiro (Orange Audubon Society) and Pete Johnson (Duval Audubon Society). 8:00 a.m.‒11:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 12. Taking off from the McDonald Canal, we will explore the western part of the Lake Apopka North Shore by bicycle. Of course, we’ll be stopping to bird. Possible sightings: See Fri 3.

Saturday 10. Oakland Nature Preserve and Newton Park Photo Trip – Walking

Oakland Nature Preserve, 747 Machete Trail, Oakland, FL 34760 and Newton Park, 31 W Garden Ave, Winter Garden, FL 34787. $40, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Craig Watson and Pam Ford (Carolina Bird Club). 8:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 14. Tailored for photographers, we will take time to get the shot. Oakland Nature Preserve encompasses 128 acres of land—48 acres of uplands and 80 acres of forested wetlands with a boardwalk to Lake Apopka. After taking a birding walk at the preserve, we will stop by Newton Park in Winter Garden. This park on the south shore of Lake Apopka has become a birding hotspot. Possible Sightings: Painted Buntings, Grasshopper Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, American Kestrel, Merlin, Snail Kites, Purple Gallinules and overwintering ducks.

Saturday 11. Scrub-Jays and Southwest Volusia County Specialties – Strenuous walking on sand and hilly terrain. Lyonia Preserve, 2150 Eustace Avenue, Deltona, FL 32725. We will start at Lyonia Preserve to see scrub-jays and other scrub-inhabiting birds and then, if your leaders' scouting has revealed favorable conditions, will go on to Audubon Park, corner of Lush Lane and Doyle Rd. Deltona, FL 32738. $50, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Luddy Lambertson and Joan Tague. Lyonia Preserve is a 400-acre preserve that has been managed since the 1990s for the Florida Scrub-Jay. 8:00 a.m.‒11:00 a.m. Maximum participants: 14. The Lyonia Preserve and Audubon Park in Deltona are great birding locations within a forty-minute drive from Apopka. At Lyonia Preserve we will see birds of the scrub habitat and at Audubon Park we will see wetland birds. Note that the walk at Lyonia Preserve is in soft sand and up and down a hill, so is somewhat strenuous. Possible sightings: Florida Scrub-Jay, Eastern Towhee, and other scrub species, plus Wilson’s Snipe, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren and other wetland species. 

Saturday 12. Orlando Wetlands Photo Trip – Tram ride, minimal walking.

Orlando Wetlands, 25155 Wheeler Road, Christmas, FL 32709. $50, bring your own lunch. Leaders: Gilberto Sanchez-Perez and Philip Lintereur. 8:30 a.m.‒11:30 a.m. Maximum participants: 20. The Orlando Wetlands is a man-made wetland designed to provide advanced treatment for reclaimed water from the City of Orlando and other local cities. Located in Christmas, in the far eastern part of Orange County, the park is 1,650 acres in size and has 21 miles of crisscrossing berm trails. It has become a birding and wildlife photography hot-spot. In this trip your leaders will take you by trailer tram to some great spots for photography and share some of their tips. Possible sightings include Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Roseate Spoonbill, Limpkin, and Purple Gallinule. 

Saturday 13. Digiscoping /Phoneskoping – Stationary and a minimum of walking.

McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $30. Leader: Mariah Hryniewich (PhoneSkope), Luis Gles (Woodstars Birding & Nature Tours) and Mary Soule  (Orange Audubon Society). 12:30 p.m.‒2:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 10. Learn how to take great photos through a spotting scope. Digiscoping—attaching a smart phone or camera to a spotting scope—minimizes impact on wildlife with extended focal lengths and eliminates the challenge of manual focus. Bring your own scope. If you don’t already have an adapter to connect your phone to the spotting scope, consider purchasing one before festival. Mariah is a rep for PhoneSkope. https://www.phoneskope.com/ that pioneered these adapters. Possible sightings: Wading birds are great subjects on which to focus, and Red-shouldered Hawks and Ospreys often perch cooperatively.

Saturday 14. Advanced eBirding – Orientation at the McDonald Canal gazebo and then walking to bird and test eBird skills. McDonald Canal Pavilion, 24600 CR 448A, Mount Dora, FL 32757. $30. Leader: David Simpson (Birding with David Simpson) and Susan Thome-Barrett (Orange Audubon Society).  12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 12. eBird is a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, an app that allows you to record your sightings in the field on your phone, either iPhone and Android, all for free. eBird data documents bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework. So when you record your sightings on eBird, you are contributing to science and at the same time documenting the progression of your hobby, birding. David Simpson who primarily birds in Florida, has filed many eBird lists and is eager to share advanced tips on how to use eBird. Co-leader Susan Thome-Barrett can assist any participants that are newer to eBird.

Saturday 15. New! How to Use Your Camera Workshop with Keynote Dinner. St. Johns River Water Management District Apopka Service Center. 2501 S. Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703. $40. Leaders Philip Lintereur and Jason Giraulo. 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. workshop (bring your camera). 4:30-6:30 p.m. Dinner served at 5:00 p.m. Talk at 5:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 10. 

Saturday Keynote, Dinner: “Flamingos in Florida: Past, Present and Future" by Steven Whitfield.. St. Johns River Water Management District Apopka Service Center. 2501 S. Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703. $30 regular ($20 student, $10 Youth under 17,   contact festival@orangeaudubonfl.org to secure this discounted pricing). 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Dinner served at 5:00 p.m. Talk at 5:30 p.m. Maximum participants: 60. American Flamingos are one of Florida's most iconic bird species, and were historically present in large flocks in south Florida, though they disappeared in the late 1800s. Through the 1900s, when rare flamingos did appear in south Florida, both birdwatchers and biologists considered them to be escapes from captive populations. Over the past few decades, flamingo numbers in Florida have increased - but the origins of the flamingos remained shrouded in mystery. In 2015, Dr. Whitfield was among a group of biologists who captured a flamingo (named Conchy) who appeared in Key West, in an effort to understand the origins of flamingos in Florida. Dr. Whitfield's conservation research has led efforts to clarify the conservation status of flamingos in Florida, track recent population trends, and to promote advocacy and policy for a return of Flamingos to Florida. In September 2023, Hurricane Idalia flung flamingos into many parts of Florida and farther North, including to the shallow preserved Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons off Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Numbers seem to be increasing. Dr. Whitfield will share the current state of flamingos in Florida, and what may happen in the future. 

​​​​​​​Saturday 16. Owl Prowl – Walking

Apopka Birding Park, 2923 Lust Road, Apopka, next to entrance to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. $25. Leaders: David Simpson, Luis Gles and Mariah Hryniewich. 6:30 p.m.‒8:00 p.m. Maximum participants: 12. Owls possibly seen or heard are Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl and Eastern Screech Owl.

Date: December 5 - 9, 2024