Highlights also included a very cooperative Shrike that sat still while we all made way too many photos of it, a bald eagle that flew right overhead, and two life birds for me (the Bonaparte’s Gull and Greater Yellowlegs). It’s definitely birding season at MINWR!
I spent last Thursday morning at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It’d been quite a while …
I got up early Thursday morning and checked the weather. The maps (both Radar and IR clouds) were clear. This isn’t a strong sign for a good sunrise, but I was itching to photograph something and I was already packed, so I went on over to MINWR to check on activity there.
I haven’t done a sunrise in a while, so Kevin M. and I got up early this morning for a quick trip over to MINWR.
Black Skimmers… I’ve never seen so much skimming. Long graceful glides over flat water with an uncluttered background, sometimes fairly close to shore. They use their longer, lower bills to slice through the surface searching for fish and write a sharp wake behind them. Wonderful to watch and with such good light, and a near perfect opportunity for photographs.
As usual, my visit to MINWR was very enjoyable – and engaging, and calming.
I went over to Merritt Island this morning with Kevin K. and Kevin M. It was a crisp, clear morning, so there weren’t many clouds to enhance the sunrise, but we enjoyed watching it and making some photos anyway. … It really did turn into an interesting morning.
So we watched a nice sunrise, found some interesting birds, and enjoyed being out in nature. All in all, a very good morning.
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.
Jetty Park and MINWR are great places to visit and very active right now. If you haven’t been recently, go!