I’ve been wanting to go back to Viera Wetlands.  When I called their hotline Friday night, it said the roads are closed to vehicles.  I think this is old info, but I didn’t want to drive all the way there to check.  So I went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge instead on Saturday morning.  Here are a few photos from the trip.

Hooded Mergansers were there on our last visit.  This time they were close enough for a photo.

Hoodie

There was a large group of birds feeding on minnows in one small pond by Black Point Wildlife Drive (yes – the Drive is open again – yay!).  It was very close to the road with an unobstructed view – an excellent photo op!

Snowy Egret with a minnow

Since I sold a portion of my Olympus gear early this year and bought the Sony A7R3,  I’ve been using it for landscapes and portraits – I don’t have a birding lens for it but I’ve wondered how it would do.  Yesterday’s  close-up feeding frenzy was a perfect opportunity to try it.  After I made some images with the Olympus, I pulled out the Sony with the 24 -105mm lens mounted and made several more photos.  I really liked how well it worked – especially the autofocus.  Here’s a sample.

Little Blue Heron in flight

On the way out, I saw this winter visitor walking toward a notch in the sand along the river.  I crouched down low and waited for it to frame itself.  I’m pretty sure it’s a Sanderling, although I’d welcome other opinions.

“The Sanderling is one of the world’s most widespread shorebirds. Though they nest only in the High Arctic, in fall and winter you can find them on nearly all temperate and tropical sandy beaches throughout the world. The Ruddy Turnstone and the Whimbrel are the only other shorebirds that rival its worldwide distribution.” – Cornell Lab, All About Birds

Sanderling through the sand

I visit MINWR a lot.  But it never disappoints me.  What a treasure!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

©2019, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved