After opening presents and before having dinner, I made a trip over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Christmas Day.
Afterall, this place is a wonderful gift to birders and nature-lovers. So, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by how many other people were visiting that day.
My Christmas Day visit included seeing Green-wing Teal ducks for the first time at MINWR, the return of Black Skimmers and spending some entertaining moments with a couple of Reddish Egrets.
It was a happy holiday.
Male Green-winged Teal, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Female and male Green-winged Teal, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Reddish Egret, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Reddish Egret, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Reddish Egret and White Ibis, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Female Belted Kingfisher, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Long-billed Dowitchers, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Black Skimmer, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Black Skimmer, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Black Skimmers, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Black Skimmers, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.Forster’s Tern, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, December 2024.
Imagine my surprise as I came around a corner and there was the bobcat sitting on the side of the road – like it was waiting for me to take its picture.
These striking black-and-white raptors fly to Florida in the summer from South America. To paraphrase an old Delta Airlines commercial, these birds love to fly and it shows.
I was surprised to find so many Barn Swallows along Joe Overstreet Road, but their early migration let me see just how different their appearance can be.
