A partly cloudy morning in late June was a perfect day to find Least Bitterns at the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. Everywhere I looked, I found one of these secretive birds. Plus a few other bird along the drive…

Lake Apopka is a great place to go to photograph these small Least Bitterns, who generally stick to the reeds and don’t show themselves much in the wetlands. At Lake Apopka, the birds venture out onto sticks sticking up from the water. They use the sticks to perch and watch for fish to catch for breakfast. This little guy didn’t care that my car was just a few feet away. I had to remove my teleconverter to fit him in the frame…

…and then I put the teleconverter back on to photograph another Least Bittern. This one was posed a little farther away, and his feathers glowed in the beautiful golden morning light.

Common Gallinules are growing up all over the wildlife drive. The first generation of juveniles is all over the marsh. The parents are working on their next broods. Common Gallinules are one of the few species of birds where the older kids help to take care of the younger kids. On this particular morning, the parents were ensuring the surival of the species…

Purple Gallinules are also active along the drive these days. You have to be careful as both types of gallinules will dart out in front of you at a moment’s notice. This visit was the first time I’d seen Purple Gallinule babies this year. They look nothing like the parents, and they are so cute with their black feathers and orange beaks!

There’s always a branch in the way! And have you ever seen such big feet? ;-)

The Black-necked Stilt chicks have grown up and turned into slightly smaller versions of their parents. They were fairly self-sufficient as they wandered in the marsh, but their parents were still close nearby. Soon they will migrate to their wintering grounds. It’s sometimes hard to believe how fast birds grow up!

Nearby, a pair of Black-bellied Whisting-ducks was hanging out close to the trail. I see Fulvous Whistling-ducks on the drive all the time, but it’s not every day that I get close-ups of the Black-bellieds. The only thing better would have been some yellow-and-black babies!

The Barn Swallows were active near their nesting site. A line of three juveniles waited on a branch, hoping that Mom would fly by with food. A different juvenile sat on a branch and sang. It was the first time I’d seen a juvie singing. After getting some still shots of the bird with its mouth open, I switched into video mode to capture the song. It was a great way to end my visit!