Category Archives: Merritt Island NWR

Recent MINWR Photos

Haulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , , ,

Note: Our part of Central Florida was spared major impacts from Hurricane Helene. Unfortunately, people in many other areas are suffering horribly with injuries, death, and property loss. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.

I’ve gotten behind keeping the blog up to date so today I’ll try to catch up some. These photos are all recent ones from trips to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on July 29th and Sept. 25th.

Fishing. With a view. A fisherman with a view. Rotary Riverfront Park on US 1 south of the refuge entrance. July 29.

Wild TurkeyOne of several Wild Turkeys hanging out near the turn in to Bairs Cove. July 29.

2 or 3 Manatees2 or 3 Manatees were making a big commotion in Haulover Canal by the Bairs Cove boat ramp. July 29.

Dawn at the marinaDawn at the marina – 1. The early morning sky was spectacular looking east from Marina Park. September 25.

Clouds to the west over the marina at dawnDawn at the marina – 2. The sky was interesting looking west too, but not as colorful – so I converted to B&W. September 25.

A young Black Crowned Night HeronA young Black Crowned Night Heron near the rest area on Black Point Wildlife Drive. September 25.

Baby GatorsBaby Gators. From the Visitor Center boardwalk. September 25.

The folks at the Visitor Center said there was a Momma Gator and babies in the pond. I walked out and down the boardwalk without spotting them. About to give up, I heard the babies calling. They make a sort of a chirp / gulp sound and I was able to follow their calls and find them. I hoped the babies would be on Mom’s back, but not that day. She was watching over her offspring from a few feet away.

Momma GatorMomma Gator. From the Visitor Center boardwalk. September 25.

Header image: I made that one along the back part of Black Point Wildlife Drive. I’ve always liked those large pine trees and the light that morning and the hazy sky background appealed to me. You can see a larger version on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/53972104178/in/dateposted/

Maybe the Dog Days of Summer aren’t the best time to make photos at MINWR. But photo ops are still there if you go look for them.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, and take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos !

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Nikon D90 – Retro Review

Cameras and Photography, Merritt Island NWR, , ,

In my last post, I mentioned stopping to see Kevin M. in Chattanooga and that he gave me back the very same Nikon D90 that was my primary camera in 2008 and 2009. Thanks again, Kevin!

The camera is in fine shape and after buying some inexpensive after market batteries I was ready to try it out – again. I took it along on a recent outing to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This small pond is near the west entrance to Gator Creek Road and has an easterly view at dawn over the water.

A pretty place for a camera test...A pretty place for a camera test…

The only Nikon lens I still have is an even older 50mm f/1.8, so I used it for this image. It’s a stitched panorama from 2 rows of 8 frames resulting in a final image size of 9732×7462 pixels (72.6M Pixels in a 4×5 aspect ratio). I used my latest workflow and software and I think it came out pretty nice for 16+ year old tech!

I did notice that the auto focus capabilities are nowhere near as good as current cameras. And the resolution (12 MegaPixels) is pretty low too. But the dynamic range, color, and noise performance held up very well – especially with RAW files run through modern software.

It was a lot of fun to use the D90 again. I was surprised by how comfortable I was with the controls after so long. It was a very good camera when it was released. And it’s still an impressive camera now. Will I take it out and use it sometimes? Yes, for old times sake. But I’m not going to give up my Sony gear!

If you click on this image, you can see a higher resolution version on Flickr along, with EXIF info and a map showing the location.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Stay positive, be kind, and take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos – even with old gear!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR Again – 2/16/24

Haulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , , ,

I realize I’ve been posting a lot lately about Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, but I have a good excuse: there’s a lot of activity there right now. This post is just a bit more encouragement in case I haven’t already convinced you to check it out!

Kevin M. was in town and wanted to go there, so we went on the 16th after lunch. I usually go in the mornings and wasn’t sure how much we’d see in the afternoon, but it turned out we saw plenty. Most of these images are from that trip, but I’ve included a few from my February 2nd trip that haven’t been in the blog.

Hidden wonders in a beatuful placeHidden wonders in a beatuful place: It doesn’t look like it in this photo, but Black Point Wildlife Drive in MINWR is full of birds and wildlife – especially at this time of year. (2/2/24)

Flamingos are found in Florida, but usually only in the Everglades. In late August / early September of 2023, Hurricane Idalia displaced Flamingos from the Yucatan to all over the eastern US. These four are still hanging out off the west end of Haulover Canal in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They were about 1/2 mile from the kayak launch where we were standing – so it was a pretty tough shot with quite a bit of atmospheric distortion. I’m glad it turned out even this well. I might have gotten a better pic if we still had our kayaks.

If you click on the image, you’ll open a higher res version on Flickr. Then click again once or twice to zoom in to see the flamingos a little bertter.

For the record...For the record…

There were mostly Great and Snowy Egrets in this gathering, with some Spoonbills, Woodstorks, and a few Grackles mixed in. They weren’t going after the fish very hard so most of the fish were gone or the birds were full.

A great gatheringA great gathering

I wasn’t looking closely enough and didn’t notice this Great Egret until Kevin pointed out its bright green lores and breeding feathers (aigrettes). Thanks Kevin!

Fancy FeathersFancy Feathers

Terns were busy fishing along the west side of Black Point. We watched them swooping, hovering, and diving for several minutes.

Forster's Tern after fishForster’s Tern after fish

Kevin also found this Merlin near the Black Point exit. Zoom into the Flickr version and you’ll be able to see the dragonfly in the Merlin’s left talon.

Merlin with preyMerlin with prey

A lady Painted Buntings was enjoying the seeds at the visitor center feeder. There was a male there too, but I wasn’t able to get a photo.

Lady BuntingLady Bunting

We spotted other birds: Kestrels, Hawks, Ospreys, Skimmers, Hooded Mergansers, and several species of duck. Keven also saw Florida Scrub Jays. A very good trip!

Here’s two final photos to close out.

Lesser YellowlegsLesser Yellowlegs

Wading near the shoreWading near the shore (2/2/24)

The header image is an early morning (2/2/24) iPhone photo near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife Drive. That was a good trip too!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog . Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, check out a NWR close to you. And make some photos!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR: 2/2/24

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This is the best time of year to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I made another rewarding trip a week ago and came home with many images I like. Here are some of them.

Clouds added a dose of drama to early scenes along Gator Creek. And with the calm winds and long exposure, the water surface doubled the golden light.

Dawn across the creekDawn across the creek.

Once it was brighter, I headed over to Black Point Wildlife Drive and one of the first things I came across was a group of Black Skimmers doing their thing. The iBird app says these are along our coast year round, but I hardly ever see them except in the winter. This one showed off some fine form as it flew right in front of me. I was able to capture a number of frames – this was my best and it’s only slightly cropped.

Black SkimmerBlack Skimmer

The header image is from the same time / place. You can view a higher res version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/53507251801/in/dateposted/.

In Central Florida we only see American White Pelicans in the winter months. They’re very large and it’s always fun to spot them. They can be difficult to photograph. Be careful with your exposure if you want to preserve detail in their white feathers (and black primary feathers too). These four were preparing to land along the trail at the SW corner of BPWD.

Final approachFinal approach

This group / pod was preening in the shallow water along the same trail near the first bird blind. I liked this framing with the mangrove in the foreground, so I made two exposures (one focused on the mangrove and one on the pelicans). Then I was able to blend them in photoshop so both are sharp.

Preening Pod and mangrovePreening Pod and mangrove

And two last birds, both also winter only around here. They aren’t easy to find as they usually skulk around in the mangrove roots and / or reeds along the canals or shorelines. They’re also a bit of a challenge to photograph since it’s dark back in there where they hang out! I was lucky to see them both!

Clapper RailClapper Rail

Wilson's SnipeWilson’s Snipe

To close out this post, here’s a bonus landscape photo. This one is after sun up near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife Drive. I like the way the mist looks in the distance.

A little mist in the marsh this morningA little mist in the marsh this morning

For more info about conditions at MINWR, you could look at Wally Jones blog (https://ournaturalplaces.com), and the Birder’s Journey blog (https://birdersjourney.com). Both have recent articles about the refuge.

MINWR is a treasure and I’m very lucky to live so close. You should visit it if you can!

As usual, you can click on most photos in my blog to see higher resolution versions on Flickr. If you’re a glutton for photo punishment, I have (way too) many images from MINWR collected in this folder: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157627776386723/with/52112652632

P.S. I walked around Orlando Wetlands Park for a little bit yesterday. Bird activity is starting to pick up there too! I’m planning to revisit over the next month or so and hope to catch some of the bird courting / nesting activities. They started to pick up around this time last year.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog – I really appreciate it. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, check out a NWR close to you. And make some photos!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Haulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , , ,

I hope everyone had a wonderful time during the Hollidays and that you’re all having a great start to the New Year! We had a lovely (and busy) time with lots of family here at our home.

But … December is a very good time to visit MINWR. I wanted to stop by before most of the folks arrived. MK was already here and wanted to go too, so we took off early one morning to see what was going on.

It was chilly (to a Florida person anyway) and very clear. Sunrise wasn’t nearly as good as the last time I was there (https://edrosack.com/2023/08/13/5-photos-in-45-minutes/). I struggled a bit trying to make a landscape image with such a clear sky and this is the best I could do:

The day began beyond small distant clouds with a chill in the air, ripples in the river, and the click of a shutter.The day began beyond small distant clouds with a chill in the air, ripples in the river, and the click of a shutter:

There was a lot to see in the refuge though. Many birds were around, but for some reason they all seemed to be a long way off – proving a common belief that you can never have too long a lens when photographing birds.

Chilly HeronChilly Heron

I did get a lot of practice with a variety of birds in flight.

White Pelican in flightWhite Pelican

Spoonbill in flightSpoonbill

Mottled Duck in flightMottled Duck

Kestrel in flightKestrel

And I managed to photograph one species for the first time (at least I’m pretty sure these are Greater Scaups).

Greater Scaups(?) Trio in flightGreater Scaups(?) Trio

We also saw Ospreys, Herons, Egrets, Vultures, a Northern Harrier, Hooded Mergansers, and a variety of other ducks. But no gators on this trip – they were huddled somewhere waiting for it to warm up. We did see manatees and dolphins (at Bairs Cove). This dolphin was making quite a splash chasing fish in Haulover Canal.

Hunting DolphinHunting Dolphin

The header image is a photo MK made of me and my tripod at sunrise (©2024, MK Rosack. Used with permission).

A very nice visit! Winter is a fine time to see MINWR – you should go. Maybe next time I’ll try when they’re forecasting a few morning clouds.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

The rest of the photos

Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , ,

I mentioned last time that there might be enough photos from my visit to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for another blog entry. Here they are.

I used a cropped version of this first one as the header image in the last post but didn’t show the full frame. Here’s a larger crop – as usual, you can click on it to see a high res version on Flickr. This one is from Space View Park in Titusville, looking east towards the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge from the west side of the Indian River.

<Early clouds above the refugeEarly clouds above the refuge

I saw a wading bird in the distance as I entered Black Point Wildlife Drive. I thought it was a Great Blue Heron, but wasn’t sure. Who stops the car and gets out and walks to make a Great Blue Heron photo? Usually not me – I already have so many of them. They’re very common around here. But given it was the dog days of August, I wasn’t expecting to see much on that visit so I did get out and wander over. I’m glad I did. The bird cooperated and waded out so I could catch this moment in the circle of life. These birds truly are formidable hunters.

Heron 1, Snake 0Heron 1, Snake 0

I also had my macro lens mounted and looked for subjects to use it on. I’ve driven by this tree each time on Black Point Wildlife Drive. The texture patterns in the bark are very interesting.

Juniper Tree AbstractJuniper Tree Abstract

These blooming flowers were plentiful and this one was in nice light.

Firewheel (gaillardia pulchella ) close-upFirewheel (gaillardia pulchella ) close-up

I’m not able to tell you what this tiny plant was. It was only about an 1/8 of an inch long. It too was in good light and the dew drops on one side added interest.

Morning dew

Morning dew

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

5 Photos in 45 minutes

Merritt Island NWR, Technique, , , ,

I’ve been busy with other things and it’s been terribly hot here (and everywhere). So I haven’t been photographing much lately. I know summer isn’t the best time for wildlife but I really needed to scratch my photography itch. So I headed out one morning about a week ago toward Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I usually try to make a sunrise photo before I start looking for wildlife. This time I wasn’t sure where to set up for a landscape, so I decided to go early and stop at several places. Sunrise was at 6:41am and I got to the my first spot a little before six. This is a two frame vertical panorama cropped to 4×5, at 24mm, f/8, 25 sec @ ISO 800. The scene was a bit dark!

Early morning by the riverEarly morning by the river, Titusville – Marina Park, 5:54:48am.

The sky was so dramatic, I made a second photo from the same spot a few minutes later. On this one I zoomed in to show some of the detail in the distance. Single frame, 66mm, f/8, 29 sec @ ISO 250.

Early morning by marker 6Early morning by marker 6, Titusville – Marina Park, 5:58:22am.

At that point, I decided to move to Scobie Park – just south of Veterans Memorial Park. The folks that live in that condo have a great view every morning! Single frame, 49mm, f/11, 20 sec @ ISO 100.

Rooms with a viewRooms with a view, Titusville – Scobie Park, 6:07:41am

I moved again to Veterans Memorial Park and made this next photo from the gazebo to highlight the virga beyond the bridge. It’s a two frame exposure bracket, 69mm, f/11, 5 sec and 2.5 sec @ISO 100.

I think it's raining beyond the bridgeMight be raining beyond the bridge, Titusville – Veterans Memorial Park, 6:20:27am

I thought the show was about done, so I put things back in the car and started over to MINWR. On the way the sky kept changing. I hurried to a small pond on the left near the entrance to Gator Creek Road. Luckily I still had my 24 – 105 landscape lens on my camera. I quickly jumped out of the car, set up my tripod and made this image. It’s a stitched panorama blend of 7 exposure bracketed frames, 24mm, f/8, 1/125 – 1.6 sec @ISO 100.

Cloud shadows at sunriseCloud shadows at sunrise, MINWR – Gator Creek Road, 6:39:50am

And the header image is actually a 6th photo: a black and white conversion of another image made from the gazebo at Veterans Memorial Park.

After all that, I switched lenses and drove through the refuge looking for wildlife and macro subjects. I didn’t get too many of those, but maybe there’s enough for a future blog post.

I went out that morning with no expectations. My only goal was to exercise my photo muscles. I came home with these 5 images (and more!) that I really like. That’s one reason I enjoy the photography hobby so much – it surprises me almost every time. Sunrise isn’t just a moment. This one took about an hour to unfold. If you want some great sunrise (or sunset) photos, show up early and stay late. And it helps to be familiar with an area so you can get a variety of viewpoints / perspectives in your photos.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, spend 45 minutes photographing sunrise!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Photos with a new camera

Cameras and Photography, Cocoa, Merritt Island NWR, Orlando Wetlands, Osceola County, St. Johns River, , , , , , , , , , , ,

I haven’t posted in a while, so it’s about time. And I have been making some photos lately. Here are a few that I like – all made since my last post.

Another quiet morning on the St. Johns riverAnother quiet morning on the St. Johns river.

(February 17; Boat ramp on HW 50 at the St. Johns River; three frame panorama; merged in Photoshop.)

Warm light on a wading WilletWarm light on a wading Willet.

(February 17, Gator Creek Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, single frame, cropped.)

A wary RaccoonA wary Raccoon.

(February 23; Orlando Wetlands Park, single frame, cropped.)

Forest flowersForest flowers.

(February 24, Central Winds Park in Winter Springs; Focus Bracket in Camera, merged in Photoshop.)

Through the treesThrough the trees.

(March 4; Orlando Wetlands Park; single frame; cropped.)

Nesting WoodstorkNesting Woodstork.

(March 4, Orlando Wetlands Park, single frame, Adobe enhanced resolution, cropped.)

Ruffled FeathersRuffled Feathers.

(Eastern Meadowlark; March 7; Joe Overstreet Road; single Frame; cropped.)

A river runs through itA river runs through it.

(March 10; Leroy Wright recreational area along SR 520 at the St. Johns river , Cocoa Fl; Sony Pixel Shift Multi Shoot (16 frames), merged in Sony Imaging Edge; Converted to B&W in Lightroom.)

I made all of these (and more!) while trying out and setting up my new camera.

In late October of last year, Sony announced the latest version of their high resolution model line: the A7R V. There’s a lot of info available on the web about it. I read a great deal of that over 3+ months before finally deciding to upgrade my faithful A7R III (which was announced way back in October of 2017). I packed up quite a bit of my existing camera gear and traded it in for the new one. If you’re interested, you can read a lot of the same info I researched on-line, so I’m not going to repeat any of that here. I’ll just summarize some things and give you my first impressions to go along with the images above.

6 years is a long time in the camera design universe. These are changes that I really like:

  • The native sensor resolution is slightly higher – nice for landscapes and very helpful for wildlife photos. The pixel shift multi shot capability now seems to work very well (it didn’t on the A7R III and I never used it). For static subjects where you want huge resolution files, I think it’s a better implementation than even the Olympus EM 1 MII version that I used a lot when I had that camera.
  • Focus capabilities are immensely improved. The human eye auto focus on the A7R III convinced me to buy that years ago. The A7R V AI auto focus is much better and will be wonderful for many subjects, not just people.
  • Image Stabilization on the A7R III was not a standout feature. On the A7R V it is.
  • The A7R V has a huge image buffer. You can shoot continuously at the highest frame rate for up to 1000 frames (using CF Express cards). Even using SD UHS-II cards (slower than CF Express) it will still shoot over 100 frames before the buffer fills.
  • Many RAW Image formats are now supported. You can choose compressed / uncompressed as well as medium or low resolution RAW files if you don’t need the full resolution.
  • Video is much improved (although I should study this and use it more often!).
  • The Electronic Viewfinder and the back LCD are both improved with higher resolution and frame rates. The LCD also tilts and swivels – very useful.

Other things have changed, but they’re minor (for me). In summary I like everything Sony did with this camera and I hope to use it for a long time to come. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them in the comments.

By the way, nesting activity at Orlando Wetlands is still in full swing. It’s a good opportunity to observe several species creating new life.

Click on any of these photos to see higher resolution versions on Flickr.

The header image: Great Egret Fly-by (higher res version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52719484820/in/dateposted-public/)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR – 30 Jan 2023

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I hadn’t been to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in a while and decided to head over last Monday. On the way in I stopped by the pier on the west side of the A. Max Brewer Memorial Bridge. When photographing a sunrise (or anything else!) I try to stay aware of things in other directions. Looking north just before sunrise, this sail boat caught my eye. I like the subject, colors and reflections:

A pretty place to anchor

A pretty place to anchor

Winter is such a wonderful time to visit MINWR. The variety of “snow birds” you could spot is amazing. Here are a few I found.

I haven’t seen a Snipe in a long time – the sun’s glare hid it pretty well, but the long beak gave it away:

SnipeWilsons Snipe

These enormous waterbirds hang around all over Central Florida in the winter, but it’s still nice to see them. Every one I spotted was either far away or horribly back lit.

High Key PelicanHigh Key White Pelican

Northern Shovelers show up each winter:

Her and HimHer and Him

Northern Pintails show up too, although I don’t run across them as often:

Him and Her>Him and Her

And Willets and Lesser Yellowlegs are fairly common, although it’s unusual to see a choreographed pair and their reflections:

Passing byPassing by

Definitely worth a visit – I’m glad I went! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, visit a wildlife refuge!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island NWR 12/8/2022

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I spent a few moments before sunrise last Thursday morning at Scobie Park (just south of Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville), watching the pre-dawn clouds reflecting in the calm Indian River water. Oh, and I had a camera with me too – I made 6 frames to stitch together into this image:

The day beginsThe day begins

After that I wandered over to Black Point Wildlife Drive and one of the first things I saw was this:

Large numbers of birds were going after minnows concentrated in this small pond along Black Point Wildlife Drive.

These “feeding frenzies” don’t happen all the time, but when they do they can be great photo fun.

At first glance, they look like a photographer’s dream – all those birds in a confined area – taking off, landing, chasing minnows and each other, just waiting for you to snap the shutter.

It turns out it’s not so easy. They’re crowded together against a cluttered background. They move quickly, change directions unexpectedly, and in general make it hard to pick a subject and compose deliberately – especially if you’re looking through your viewfinder with a long lens on your camera. I often keep the camera away from my eyes so I can see what’s going on. Then I can sometimes anticipate the action and make a photo when they all decide to move at once:

Exodus Exodus

I also like to study the scene for a while and try different vantage points and lenses. I chose a spot where the wind was at my back and most of the birds were taking off and landing toward me. It helps to keep looking around so you can spot them as they’re coming in. I noticed this spoonbill a long way out. Since I knew where it was headed I could track it as it approached and make several frames when it landed. This side lit one is my favorite:

Landing SpoonbillLanding Spoonbill

There were lots of Roseate Spoonbills around. The header image at the top of the post on the web is another one I like from the trip. That pair was wading in a less busy part of the drive.

I also had some good luck with this female Belted Kingfisher. She ignored me and kept gazing out over the water as I crept closer. I stayed in the car, moved slowly and tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn’t bother her. Most of the time, they leave as soon as you point a camera at them, but she wasn’t concerned at all. This is one of the closest photos I’ve made of one (the EXIF data says I was about 19 meters away). She’s very pretty and quite regal, I think.

An Unusually Calm KingfisherAn Unusually Calm Kingfisher

It was a short visit, but a wonderful one. This is an excellent time of year to visit the refuge, get out in the midst of nature, and enjoy some of the things you can see there.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.  I hope all of you are doing well and that you have a joyful holiday season with your family and friends. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make a few photos!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved