Category Archives: Merritt Island NWR

Things are hoppin' at Black Point!

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

This is a truly great time of year to visit the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  I’ve gone over for the last two weekends.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I took Lynn, Mary, and Monette there last Sunday – we had a great time and spotted lots of birds.  I told Kevin M. about it and he insisted we go back yesterday with Kevin K.

Why is it so good over there now?  I’m glad you asked!  The number and types of birds in and around Black Point Wildlife Drive are probably the greatest I’ve ever seen.  There are both regular species and winter visitors.  Ducks are there in huge numbers, both in the water and flying overhead in vast formations close enough that the sound of their beating wings is quite loud.  The larger wading and shorebirds are also there in force.  On both days, there were feeding frenzies going on in ponds along BPWD.  The water is full of minnows and the birds are feasting on them.

Black Point Wildlife Drive Feeding Frenzy Video

By the way, this situation is an ideal set up to practice your BIF (birds in flight) photography.  Here’s a photo I made at this same pond, showing an egret with one of the minnows.

Snowy Egret with minnow
Snowy Egret with minnow

And here’s a close-up of the minnows in the water.  No wonder the birds are going crazy!

The reason for the festive gathering
The reason for the festive gathering (photo by Kevin McKinney)

On these two days, we saw close to 40 different types of wildlife.  And I’m sure there were others I either didn’t see, didn’t recognize or forgot.  Here’s a partial list:

  • Alligator, Cows, Deer, Manatee
  • American Avocets
  • Anhingas
  • Belted Kingfishers
  • Black vultures
  • Black Skimmers
  • Coots
  • Cormorants
  • Ducks:  American Wigeon, Blue Wing Teals, Hooded Merganser, Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler
  • Egrets:  Cattle, Great, Reddish, and Snowy
  • Grackles
  • Herons: Great Blue, Green, Little blue,  and Tri-color
  • Ibis:  Glossy, and White
  • Mourning Doves
  • Northern Mockingbird
  • Osprey
  • Pie billed grebe
  • Red Bellied woodpecker
  • Ring billed Gull
  • Roseate Spoonbills
  • White pelican
  • Wood storks
  • Yellow Rumped Warbler

Cruising White Pelican
Cruising White Pelican – a winter migrant to our area

So two wonderful visits, although we did have some disappointments.  We looked for Florida Scrub Jays and didn’t see them in the normal spot.  And the sunrise photos on both days were a challenge.  Here’s what it looked like yesterday:

Foggy mornin'
Foggy mornin’

 

As usual, you can see larger versions of these images on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Forster's Tern

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

I think I’ve confessed here before that I’m just a beginning birder.  I enjoy identifying the birds I see, although sometimes it’s tough for me to figure out ones that I don’t see very often. Gulls and Terns seem especially hard.

Anyway, I photographed this bird last weekend at MINWR and it took me a while to sit down and research what it is.  I was pretty sure it’s a Tern, but didn’t know which one.  The red / orange legs were a big clue, although the lack of a black head cap and the dark bill initially confused me.  It turns out (Terns out?) that Forster’s Terns lose their black cap in the winter and their bills turn from orange to grey / black.  Mystery solved!

Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern

They’re here in Florida only in the winter months – we saw a group of them along BPWD.  They were flying above the water and then plunging in to feed on fish.

In looking back through the rest of my photos from last weekend, the trip was quite productive.  I’ve a number of images that I’m pleased with.  Here’s a couple more:

VAB sunrise. Merritt Island, Florida
VAB sunrise. Merritt Island, Florida.  A four image panorama at 150mm: not my normal landscape focal length

Roseate Spoonbill landing
Roseate Spoonbill landing

You can see larger versions of these photos on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

MINWR – November 10, 2012

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , ,

Yuck – the time changed again.  Sunrise is an hour earlier than it used to be.  An hour earlier than it’s supposed to be – for normal people anyway.  I guess that’s so crazy, get up too early photographers can make images other people can’t.

I was pretty tired on Friday night and really didn’t feel like getting out of bed, but get up I did (at 0430!) and drove over to meet Kevin M. at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We ended up at a bend in East Gator Creek road where the low tide had uncovered a tree stump.  Muddy tripod legs in the dark are awesome!

Low tide, before dawn
Low tide, before dawn – Looking east from East Gator Creek Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

Except for the early sunrise, this is a wonderful time of year to visit MINWR.  There are lots of birds around, including many winter visitors and if you’re lucky you can see other wildlife too.

Dolphin
Sunlight glints off water drops in a dolphin’s breath

After sunrise, we drove through Black Point Wildlife Drive and then went by the Visitor Center.  In addition to the Dolphin, we saw a River Otter, White pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, many Palm Warblers, Ospreys, European Starlings, Willets, Green Wing Teals, Northern Shovelers, Bald Eagles on the nest platform near the rest area, a Grey Catbird, a flock of American Avocets, Terns, Gulls, Great Blue Herons, Reddish Egrets, Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, many Belted Kingfishers, Wood Storks, Cormorants, Anhingas, Coots, Pie-billed Grebes, Black Vultures, a Ruby Throated Hummingbird at the Visitor Center, and several other species too.  The birds are definitely back!

Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler on matching flowers.

We had good light early, but a lot of clouds moved in later, which made for some nice IR photos.  I had to leave early and get home to help with errands, but Kevin M. had an “all day kitchen pass”, so he stayed and visited several other places at the refuge.  He photographed a Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, that’s been hanging around about 3/4 of a mile from the gravel lot on Shiloh Marsh Rd. as well as a Florida Scrub Jay.

Clouds move in
Clouds move in

All in all, a great day for photography!  You can see larger versions of these photos on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

 

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge – 9/15/12

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , ,

One thing that’s really wonderful about the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is that it’s such a large and varied area.  Even if the main attractions (like Black Point Wildlife Drive) are slow, you can still find plenty to see and photograph in other areas.  And the surroundings offer some very scenic Florida landscapes.

I visited once again Saturday morning with fellow Photography Interest Group member Kevin M.  We stopped as we normally do at a likely spot on the way for a sunrise photo.  This was the scene at Rotary Riverfront Park, just north of highway 50 on US 1.  There’s a pier leading to a set of docks that offer many different compositions.  It’s a beautiful place and although several people showed up to watch the sun rise, I was the first out on the pier – and felt a little bad when I disturbed a couple that had slept on one of the benches at the end.

Dawn in Titusville, Florida
Dawn in Titusville, Florida: There were several people enjoying the view from Rotary Riverfront Park, across from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).  I tried my new Hoya ND400 neutral density filter and I like the way it works.  If you haven’t used something similar, you should.  It’s one way to make your photos stand out.

When we left and headed to Black Point, the clouds you see in the distance turned into rain, which fell off and on in spots for an hour or so.  This made for “ISO 2000 light”, which means it was dim for good bird photography.  It turns out that didn’t matter too much, since the birds were few and far between.  We did see a few of the normal species:  Anhingas, Belted Kingfishers, Cormorants, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Redish, Great and Snowy Egrets, Grebes, Moorhens, some unidentified ducks in the distance, and a few shore birds.  The water there was very high – maybe the highest I’ve seen it.  I wonder if this is related to the bird count or not?

After Black Point, we decided to try a new area and stopped by Hammock Trails.  These take off in two directions from the parking area and wander through some hardwood trees as well as typical Florida pines and palms.  We were hoping to see a few migrant Warblers, but had no luck.  I’m not a very good birder – although I  heard a few, I didn’t see a single one along these trails.  I did come across this railroad track, which I thought made a good subject:

Leading to separation
Leading to separation – Train tracks crossing Hammock Trail in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This is a Black & White conversion of a bracketed, Infra Red, Panorama

Our last stop of the day was the Visitor Center.  Since our annual pass is expiring, we wanted to renew.  We arrived at about 9:30.  They don’t open until 10, so we wandered around for a bit.

Carolina Wren
Carolina Wren – Sighted along the boardwalk at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

There wasn’t any activity at the bird feeder, but we could hear several birds on the boardwalk.  We ended up seeing a Carolina Wren, a pair of Cardinals, a Black and White Warbler, and a Red Eyed Vireo, and I’m guessing there were others we didn’t see.  The ranger mentioned White Eyed Vireos and we’ve seen them there in the past.

So we watched a nice sunrise, and even though the birds were scarce at a couple of areas, we ended up with some interesting avian sightings, and enjoyed being out.  All in all, a very good morning.

If you click on the photos above, you’ll go to Flickr where you can view larger versions.  You can see more MINWR photos in this set on Flickr,  more sunrise photos in this set, and more Florida landscapes in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Weekend with Wilson

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Technique, , , , , , ,

I stopped by C. S. Lee Park on SR 46 in Geneva yesterday morning with Kevin, Kevin and Lutfi to photograph the sunrise.  There weren’t a lot of clouds but it was still pretty – and some obliging fishermen were kind enough to point their wake into the scene for us.

Hurry, the fish are biting!
Hurry, the fish are biting! C. S. Lee Park, Geneva, Florida

We were on our way over to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  Kevin M. uses the Audubon Birds of North America app, which has links to bird sightings on eBird.  With this, you can search for nearby birds, activity at birding hotspots, and even see reports of recent notable and rare bird sightings.  Using the app, he discovered that Wilson’s Pharalopes were on Bio-lab road last week, so we decided to try to spot them.

The Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) is a small wading bird and the largest of the phalaropes.   Normally it breeds on the North American prairies and in the western US. It is migratory, but according to iBird, isn’t often found in Florida, so this was a rare chance to see it.

Wilson's Phalarope pair
Wilson’s Phalarope pair. Bio-lab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

It was fun to see another Wilson bird yesterday:  the Wilson’s Plover .  These are also waders and breed on both US coasts from the equator northwards. Its common range does include Florida.

Wilson's Plover
Wilson’s Plover. Bio-lab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I’d seen a Wilson’s Snipe before and now with these sightings I started wondering who this Wilson fellow was.  Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator.  He’s regarded as the greatest American ornithologist prior to Audubon.  Several birds are named after him, including the three I already mentioned and the Wilson’s Storm-petrel,  and Wilson’s Warbler. The warbler genus Wilsonia was also named for him.  In 1802 Wilson decided to publish a book illustrating all the North American birds.  The result was the nine-volume American Ornithology, with 268 species of birds, 26 of which hadn’t been described.

On our trip, we also saw Alligators, Belted Kingfishers, Green Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, and many kinds of gulls and shore birds on Bio-lab Road.  We drove through Black Point Wildlife Drive too, but there wasn’t as much going on there.

So this trip provided an incentive to clear out some of my birding ignorance and now I know a bit about another great American ornithologist.  You can see more MINWR photos here and here, and birds photos here and here.  And I have a some more Florida landscape / sunrise photos here.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island – June 29th 2012

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Rocket Launch, , , , , , ,

Waiting to launch...
Waiting to launch – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket sits on the pad at Launch Complex 37B before dawn at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

I got up very early on Friday morning and arrived on Merritt Island in time for the Delta IV Heavy rocket launch scheduled for 6:15am. I figured it might be very picturesque, since sunrise was scheduled for 6:30. Unfortunately, the sunrise happened on time, but the launch didn’t.

If you’re not a Florida resident, you may not be aware of how hard it is to actually see a launch unless you live very close to or are staying at the Cape. I live about an hour away, and going over is an investment of time and effort. The problem is that launches very rarely happen when they’re first scheduled. At least when I try to see them. There always seems to be a technical problem, hold, or reschedule. Maybe I’m a jinx?

Anyway, this one finally did go at about 9:15 – although it wasn’t as photogenic as I hoped.

Delta IV Heavy Launch
Delta IV Heavy Launch – From Peacocks Pocket Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This is not the kind of bird I normally photograph at Merritt Island.

The delay gave me an excuse to drive around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge while I waited. It’s the time of year when there’s not much happening there. But I did see some of the usual birds including Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Red-winged Blackbirds, Turkey and Black Vultures, Killdeer, and others. I also saw a group of Black Skimmers, a Loggerhead Shrike, a few Terns and gulls, and some smaller shorebirds.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron – I know, I know: these birds are common around here, but they’re pretty and it’s hard to resist making a photo when they pose in good light.

I also (of course!) took advantage of the opportunity to make a few landscaped photos.

Sunrise crossing - from the Bennet Causeway in Cocoa Beach, Florida
Sunrise crossing – from the Bennett Causeway in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The rising sun’s reflection and a boat wake created the cross pattern in the water near the cruise ship dock.

I had a good time. You will too, as long as you keep your expectations in check and work the other photo-ops if the launch is late.

Please see this blog post for info about Kennedy Space Center. For several other articles about Merritt Island, see this link.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Central Florida Bird update

Cocoa Beach Pier, INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Orlando Wetlands, Viera Wetlands, , , , , , ,

The spring migration has made the last few weeks an intense time for birding in Central Florida.  There was a fall out in Fort Desoto in late April where my friend Kevin M.  sighted 110 different bird species in one day!  As those migrants moved on, other locations have also seen a few visitors, especially smaller birds.

The activity at Black Point Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Orlando Wetlands Park, and Viera Wetlands is slowing down now from the peak nesting and breeding season.  Most of the young ones are hatched, grown, and fledged, although you can still find some amazing sights such as a White Eyed Vireo nest next to the boardwalk at the MINWR visitors center.

At BPWD the water is quite low.  We found some concentrations of birds in a few of the areas that did have water including Redish Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons, etc.  There are also some juvenile Green Herons in the bushes by the rest rooms.  But the ducks seem to be mostly gone – even the moorhens and coots.  And we haven’t seen any Kingfishers lately either. We did see an Eastern Kingbird on BPWD, and a Northern Parula and Grey Catbird at the visitor center.

Wading Roseate Spoonbill
Wading Roseate Spoonbill – feeding at BPWD

Orlando Wetlands is quiet too – both people and birds.  I was the only visitor when I went by last Thursday morning.  I saw a solitary Swallow-tail Kite fly by briefly (too fast to get a photo).  And there were plenty of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, some hawks, limpkins, herons and egrets – but again the most of the ducks seem have gone elsewhere.

Mom and kid Limpkin on a sunrise stroll
Mom and kid Limpkin on a sunrise stroll

At Viera Wetlands we saw a few of the usual birds and there are still some GBH juveniles on nests.  Terns and Ospreys were putting on a fishing demonstration.  It’s fun to watch this behavior and it’s a good situation for Birds in Flight practice.

Blue Heron Portrait
Blue Heron Portrait

And even if the birding is slowing down, you can always find some landscape photo ops around the area.

Drippy
Drippy: I was scouting for new sunrise locations and got to the Cocoa Beach pier a bit late. I decided to make a photo anyway… Next time I’ll be there before dawn.

If you click on any of the photos, they’ll open in Flickr, where you can see larger versions.  You can also see some of my previous photos from:

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Avocets and Cedar Wax Wing at Black Point Wildlife Drive

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , ,

Lynn and I went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this morning and drove around Black Point Wildlife Drive.

Water is very low and much of the bird population seems to have gone elsewhere. But we did see the regulars, including Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Great Blue Herons, Mourning Doves, Kingfishers, Black Vultures, Blue Wing Teals, and Red Wing Blackbirds.  We saw only a few Coots and Moorhens – nowhere near the hundreds that are typical.

The highlights of the trip for me were:

American Avocets
American Avocets in breeding colors: We saw a few of these and heard many others. They’re much more fancy at this time of year than with their normal black and white coloring.

Solitary Cedar Waxwing
Solitary Cedar Waxwing: I usually see these in flocks. This one just sat there looking around. It’s the clearest photo I’ve made of one.

There was a Northern Bobwhite male near the restroom parking area, but it moved into cover before I could raise my camera.  I also added an Eastern Kingbird to my life list.  And I saw a Swallow Tail Kite on the way home along State Road 50, but again was unable to get a photo.  Something about me driving and photographing at the same time seems to make Lynn nervous.

It was a very pleasant trip — especially with Lynn along!

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Infrared Photography Follow Up

Infrared processing, INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Ohio, OUTSIDE FLORIDA, Technique, Washington D.C., ,

If you’re a regular reader, you saw my post from a couple of weeks ago about infrared photography and how I post process my IR images.  If not, please check it out!

That post concentrated on a single image and tried to show some detail on how I processed it.  Today, I’d like to show you a few more examples of what you can expect when you try this very interesting genre of photography.  I made these photos with my IR modified Olympus E-PL1 camera.

I R n Air
I R n Air: A river runs through the countryside in this B&W digital infra-red photo made out the window at ~30,000 feet. The IR light cuts right through the haze to show a lot of detail.

Palm
Palm Tree: IR sensitivity makes the foliage stand out against the sky in this false color image.

Calm water and birds
Calm water and birds:  Bird photography is not a strength of IR, but the birds in the water and the ones flying through the frame add to this landscape.

Play time at Union Station
Play time at Union Station:  Buildings, architecture, and people can be good subjects.

Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin
Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin:  IR adds a different look to this classic view.

I have some other IR photos on Flickr in this set.  And you can see examples from other photographers in The Infrared and The Digital infrared groups on Flickr.  How about it – are you inspired to try IR photography?  Let me know if you do.

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

[Additional info, added 1/24/2014]:  https://edrosack.com/2014/01/12/infrared-updates/

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

The Falcon and the Redheads

INSIDE FLORIDA, Jetty Park, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

Another trip yesterday to the east central coast of Florida:  Jetty Park in Cocoa and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (Black Point Wildlife Drive) in Titusville.  Wow – it was a poor day for sunrise photos, an OK day for bird photography, and a great day for birding!

Dawn yesterday was nothing to get up for – cloudy, dim, no color.  But we were up and out, so I made a photograph anyway.

Danger
Danger

That taken care of, I switched cameras and used the Sigma 150-500mm to scout shorebirds.  There were many Gulls (Laughing, Ring-Billed, Herring), Pelicans and Black Vultures, a few Royal Terns, Black Skimmers, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, Northern Mockingbirds, and Ospreys, and a Reddish Egret, and Snowy Egret.  I also saw a couple of Hawks and was puzzled by the look of this one that flew over the jetty and out into the inlet until I got home and did some research.  I’ve never seen a Peregrine Falcon in the wild before yesterday!

Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon

Reddish Egret
Reddish Egret in the surf – quite a “do”

By the time we moved up the coast to MINWR, it was a bit brighter and the conditions were better for photography.  We’d heard about a sighting of a Redhead duck and wanted to see if we could find it.  We came across it about half way round the drive on the right hand side swimming with several other ducks.  I think it’s amazing how a few bits of data over the internet can lead to sighting a semi-rare (for Florida) bird.  With so much information available it’s a great time to enjoy this kind of thing.

Redhead duck
Redhead duck

Other birds we saw on BPWD:  American Avocets, Common Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Robins, Roseate Spoonbills, Gulls, Belted Kingfishers, Northern Harrier, Northern Shovelers, Coots, Greebes, Green Wing Teals, Great Blue Herons,  Little Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Great Egrets, and others.

Once again, a wonderful day outside in our natural Florida paradise.

I’ve posted a few more of my photos on Flickr.  You can see them in this Jetty Park set and this MINWR set.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved