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Header Image: Anhinga The morning was cool and clear. Standing by the small lake, the silence was broken by a Limpkin calling in the distance. That served as a wake-up for several local residents. Common Gallinules gabbled from the shallow-water grass, an Anhinga squawked as it flapped from a nearby cypress branch, White-winged Dove demanded to know “Who-Who-Who Cooks For You”. We had arrived a little while before the sun rose and… Read More

Lake Apopka was essentially a dead lake in the 1960’s. Damage from pesticides and large-scale fertilizer runoff from muck farms was thought to be irreparable. To visit this area today is enough to make you believe in miracles. If we did not know the lake’s history, we would assume we were enjoying one of Florida’s premier birding locations and prime water recreation destinations. So much has been done to reclaim Lake Apopka… Read More

It was getting warm. Comfortable. Not hot. Blue skies, salt water and the constant sounds of birds enveloped us in a cocoon of contentment. We exited East Gator Creek Road after thoroughly enjoying the performance of the Reddish Egret and drove out of the refuge to Parrish Park. The park is just outside the refuge at the beginning of the bridge over the Indian River to the town of Titusville. It’s a… Read More