January 18, 1995
Afternoon
We arrived at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge after noon, so we only had a couple of hours to spare before heading to Orlando to meet Deb and OD for dinner. Even with such a short period of time, it was WELL worth it! Merritt Island is one of the premier spots I’ve birded thus far in my young life, certainly at this time my favorite. I will return in the future – it’s WONDERFUL!
When we first arrived, we drove down an unmarked trail, from which we spotted abundant waterfowl, including Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, and Northern Pintail, which were a new species for me.
When that road became impassable, we turned around and took the self-guided Black Point wildlife viewing drive which turned out to be VERY productive. Unsurprisingly, waders are abundant here, including Glossy and White Ibis, and most of the heron and egret species that could be expected, including Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Tri-colored Heron. Both Atlantic Brown and American White Pelicans were present, along with Western Osprey and a variety of gulls and terns. We had a fantastic sighting of a female Northern Harrier as we drove down Black Point Wildlife Drive. She flew right in front of our car on her way through the marshlands, giving an excellent view, and making her easy to identify (something that not all raptors do)! We saw a Marsh Rabbit and at least one (unidentified) species of turtle. And of course, American Alligator (my favorite).
Near the end of our visit, as sunset was approaching, I had one of my favorite sightings ever: a Reddish Egret. I’d been hoping to see this bird while in Florida, and hadn’t thus far, but as we were on our way out along the Black Point Wildlife Drive, we saw one doing its characteristic dance in some shallow water only a few feet from the road. A perfect sighting of a gorgeous bird!
Of course, there were a couple of unidentified birds. A probable Savannah Sparrow, spotted in the brush along the unmarked road; the yellow eye-stripe was the feature I used to make the ID. There were also a couple of sandpipers – one with white on the top of the head and back of neck, a black and grey face, a white bill, and white patches on the sides by the rump. Another bird appeared to be a female with rufous sides.
All in all, this was a wonderful trip – and an incredible species count, especially considering we were only there for two or three hours!
Species List
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps podiceps), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), Gadwall (Mareca strepera strepera), Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor ruficollis), Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias wardi), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata cachinnans), Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri), American Coot (Fulica americana americana), Great Egret (Ardea alba egretta), Snowy Egret (Egretta thula thula), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius), Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major westoni), Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura carolinensis), Rock Dove (Columba livia f. domestica), Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris), American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus albus), American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), Atlantic Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis), Common Loon (Gavia immer), Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla megalopterus), Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus atratus), Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga leucogaster), Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus vociferus), Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum floridanum), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger niger), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens rufescens), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus meernsi), Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos leucopterus), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Let me know what you think!