Ferndale Preserve - Clermont, FL & Oakland Nature Preserve - Oakland, FL

The 192-acre Ferndale Preserve is located on the western shore of Lake Apopka.

Greg used to cycle in this area quite a bit when we lived in Oviedo. It's probably the most challenging area and was good to build endurance. 

 Eastern Phoebe

 the start of the trail

 wild Watermelons?

 Palm Warbler

 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

 Lake Apopka

 Common Ground Dove

Common Ground Doves

After we finished the trails we stopped for lunch before heading to our next area.

The first place we tried was closed due to Irma damage.

trail was closed

The Green Mountain Scenic Byway is quite scenic. At the north end of the byway and just minutes from Orlando, Sugarloaf Mountain boasts some of the best views of the Lake Apopka region. Yes, there is a mountain in Florida! Sugarloaf Mountain is the highest point in peninsular Florida at 312 feet above sea level, and the stunning views are worth the trip. OK, so no one else would call it a mountain. However, when Greg was a serious cyclist he used to do laps up and down Sugarloaf which has a 13% - 15% grade (depending on the source). Since we were in the area Greg drove me up there to see where he used to cycle. 

We headed to the South shore of Lake Apopka in hopes of our next spot would be open.

The Oakland Nature Preserves vision is to, “promote understanding of the fragile balances among land, water, mankind, and the environment by EDUCATING present and future generations about the natural systems of the Lake Apopka Basin and by RESTORING and CONSERVING the lands within the Preserve.” Its 128 acres consists of 90 acres of undisturbed forest wetlands while 38 acres are being restored to a longleaf pine-turkey oak plant community. The Oakland Nature Preserve is managed and restored by volunteers. It’s the perfect setting to view the flora and fauna of this region.

 One of the trails was closed, but we did find one that was open.

 Palm Warbler

 Palm Warbler

 far away shot of a Kestrel

 Grasshopper Sparrow - new bird for us

 water filled sinkhole

 this trail was blocked

 amphitheater

Despite some pretty meager birding opportunities, we did see 1 new bird to add to our "Life List". We are over a thousand now. 

We normally move locations on Wednesday, but we added an extra day here since we already had the next stop booked months ago. (we normally just do it ahead just before, but since we leave on a cruise from Tampa, we wanted to make sure we had a place close by). 

Tomorrow, we will bird in the morning and then come back and prepare to leave on Thursday.