Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

Hello!!

As much as I can, I travel the 16 miles to one of my favorite nature photography spots in Florida, the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.  Set up much like the Viera Wetlands, this 11 mile drive never seems to disappoint.  Now there is one drawback to LAWD; it's only open on weekends, (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).  Since I am pretty much a weekend shooter, as of late, I find myself there at least one day per weekend, unless I have photography shoots elsewhere.

I was there again this past weekend and it was pretty uneventful.  I usually idle through the LAWD at 3 mph, watching mostly out the driver's side window.  I will occasionally take shots out the passenger side window, but it's problematic to find a spot to rest the camera to avoid shake.  Note: Many times, due to the lighting conditions, I can't set the speed high enough to compensate without making the shot way too dark. Therefore, I shoot mostly out of the driver's window.
If time allows I usually take two trips around.  Usually one time is better, by far, than the other!

This weekend, many of the usual birds were there; Anhingas, Herons, Moorhens, Egrets, etc.  These birds, no matter how many photographs you've taken of them, seem to beg for "just one more."  Most other people stop their cars when they see any bird.  Most have little or no regard for any other person.  At times there are three, four, even five cars waiting behind someone taking a picture of a Great Blue Heron!  I've found that alligators draw the most attention however.  I've seen people, (I'm assuming tourists), getting out of their cars to get closer to an alligator, (6 feet long or better), who is half in the water and half out.

Twice I've seen the alligator charge them, sending them scurrying back to their cars, (once one man jumped through the back window of his car)!!
The alligator did attempt to get him, but luckily he was just fast enough to avoid a terrible situation.


Roadblocks do happen for good reasons also.  There are times when someone spots something and pulls over to take photographs and then the next person does the same, etc, etc.  Late Friday afternoon, at around 3pm, approximately 25 - 30 Swallow-tailed Kites descended on LAWD causing a huge backup.  No one seemed to mind.  They dipped and they dived to the delight of all the photographers there.  See photograph...

 Enjoy...