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Lifer Least Flycatcher at Lust Road!

Posted Sunday, January 31, 2021Saturday, January 23, 2021 Jess Yarnell2 CommentsPosted in Lake Apopka

The third time was the charm…I finally photographed the Least Flycatcher at Lust Road! Thanks to Sam for posting the bird’s location on eBird. He was a challenge to find. While I knew that Least Flycatcher is a small flycatcher, he was smaller than I expected, and he stayed tucked back into the vegetation. He also startled easily as bikers and hikers talked on the trail. So I was super-excited to get a few quick images of him…

The Cedar Waxwings were active again on this visit. This time they were perching in lower treetops closer to the trail. When the sun finally peaked out for a few seconds, the bird’s feather just glistened!

As I photographed the waxwings, I heard a familiar potato chip call, so I began looking around for the American Goldfinch. I found him perched in some weeds, eating seeds for breakfast. Later I saw a flock of 10 of them in the treetops. I love their sweet calls!

After getting the Least Flycatcher, I walked around looking for the Ash-throated Flycatcher. He was very easy to find, darting in and out of the trees near the parking area. This bird is a bit of a celebrity. I wish I could ask him why he chooses to return to this patch of Florida instead of hanging out in the western US with the rest of his buddies!

The grassy fields behind the parking lot area are good for sparrows. I saw several Savannah Sparrows. I heard that there was a Grasshopper Sparrow, but I got there too late to see him. Sparrows are best found early in the morning. I liked how this Savannah sparrow’s coloring blends in with the brown background…

Other than the sparrows, the most common bird in the field was the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I though this one was pretty perched in the vegetation.

I quite enjoyed wandering near the Lust Road entrance, and I suspect I’ll be back soon. I could always use an unobstructed photo of the Least Flycatcher! :)

Lust Road Birding: Lots of Little Birds!

Posted Thursday, January 28, 2021Saturday, January 23, 2021 Jess YarnellPosted in Lake Apopka

When I heard that a Least Flycatcher was hanging out near the entrance to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, I grabbed my camera and went to search for my first lifer of 2021! Unfortunately I heard the flycatcher and didn’t see it. But I did have a good time wandering around the Lust Road area. Lots of little birds posing for my camera!

The first birds of the morning were a flock of Cedar Waxwings. Their shrill calls echoed as they flew back and forth, gorging themselves on berries in the treetops. They attracted quite the photographer fan club below as people oohed and awed over seeing these beautiful birds up close.

Lust Road has always been a great hotspot for birding, and now that it’s the entrance to the wildlife drive, it’s birded very heavily. There are trees on each side of a canal, grasses that make good sparrow habitat, and bushes that provide cover for little birds. I love to just wander around. Which is what I was doing when this Red-shouldered Hawk showed up…

The Eastern Phoebes didn’t care about the hawk. They also didn’t care that they were driving me crazy, darting around like flycatchers! Even though I know the differences, I still checked each one of them in hopes of seeing the Least or the Ash-throated!

There were lots of Swamp Sparrows hopping around in the bushes that morning. A couple of them posed for the camera before resuming their search for breakfast bugs.

The rocks on the edge of the canal are good place to watch. I often see little birds there, from Palm Warblers to sparrows to this little Common Yellowthroat.

Towards the end of the morning, I spotted a male Painted Bunting in the bushes near the entrance. My camera didn’t seem to bother his search for seeds. What a gorgeous bird!

Well, if at first you don’t succeed in finding your lifer Least Flycatcher, you have to try, try again!

Western Kingbirds Offer Me Flight Shots

Posted Sunday, January 24, 2021Saturday, January 23, 2021 Jess Yarnell1 CommentPosted in Lake Apopka

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher field from my last post is actually a roost for Western Kingbirds, too. In the early 1900s, Western Kingbirds started to winter in Florida, and I’m told that this roost used to be very active. On this particular morning, I watched three Western Kingbirds hang out on the power lines and hawk insects from the field. I had some great opportunities for flight shots!

Here one of the Western Kingbirds posed for the camera, choosing for once to face me instead of the field full of yummy insects. I felt honored.

Every once in a while, a kingbird would dart off the line and fly out into the field. They’d swoop down, grab an insect, then fly back to eat it. So I put on my intermediate telephoto lens and tried to catch them in flight…

He looks like he’s waving in this next shot!

I adjusted the Autofocus settings on my Canon 7D Mark II to maximum “Autofocus Point Switching” and improved my rate of keepers. Getting the bird in the frame and keeping it there while he’s flying over a field with a noisy background is a challenge!

The bird’s efforts paid off – he caught a nice bug and devoured it as I looked on.

Between the kingbirds and the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, it was a really good morning! I hope they are in a flying mood the next time I visit!