Skip to content
Roger Simmons Roger Simmons

Birds, Words, Pics + TV

  • Home
  • All Posts
    • Orlando Wetlands
    • Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
    • Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
    • Joe Overstreet Road
    • UCF Arboretum
    • Fort DeSoto Park
  • My Bird Catalog
    • All Birds Catalog
    • American Flamingos
    • Bald Eagles
    • Barred Owls
    • Belted Kingfishers
    • Black-and-White Warblers
    • Eastern Bluebirds
    • Florida Scrub-Jays
    • Green Herons
    • Little Blue Herons
    • Northern Parulas
    • Ospreys
    • Reddish Egrets
    • Red-Shouldered Hawks
    • Roseate Spoonbills
    • Sandhill Cranes
    • Whooping Crane
  • Orlando TV News/History
    • Orlando TV Schedules
    • Florida TV History
  • About this Site
Roger Simmons
Roger Simmons

Birds, Words, Pics + TV

Christmas visit to Merritt Island

Roger Simmons, January 9, 2025January 9, 2025

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.
Share on Social Media
x facebook reddit email
All Birds Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Belted KingfisherBlack SkimmerBrown PelicanForster's TernGreen-winged TealLong-billed DowitcherReddish EgretWhite Ibis

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Backyard

Yellow-throated Warbler makes welcomed return

September 13, 2024September 13, 2024

Perhaps it’s because I went to UCF and am partial to black and gold, but the Yellow-throated Warbler is one of my favorite little birds. So you can imagine how surprised and happy I was this week when a Yellow-throated Warbler visited my backyard for the first time in about…

Read More
All

Birding with Orange Audubon at Mead Garden

April 19, 2024April 18, 2024

The spot was Mead Garden in Winter Park, a wonderful oasis in our urban area and a magnet for a surprising number of birds.

Read More
All

Checking on Whooping Crane in Osceola County

January 28, 2025February 4, 2025

This endangered Whooping crane – one of about 400-600 that still exist in the wild – lives where a subdivision is gobbling up its habitat.

Read More

Latest Posts

  • Spending a magical morning at Orlando Wetlands
  • Finding some very colorful characters at Lake Apopka
  • Story of Merritt Island flamingos still being written
  • You never know what you’ll see at Orlando Wetlands
  • Reddish Egret puts on a sunset show

Top Locations

Orlando Wetlands

Posts about visits to Orlando Wetlands


UCF Arboretum

Posts about visits to UCF Arboretum


Merritt Island

Posts about visits to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge


Lake Apopka

Posts about visits to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive


Fort DeSoto

Posts about visits to Fort DeSoto Park


Galleries

Roger's Favorites

An ever-changing collection of my favorite pictures


American Flamingos

Photos of American Flamingos in Indian River


Belted Kingfishers

Photos of Belted Kingfishers across Central Florida.


Oystercatchers

Pictures of American Oystercatchers at Fort DeSoto Park


Spoonbills

Pictures of Roseate Spoonbills in Central Florida


Whooping Crane

Pictures of one of the last Whooping Cranes in Florida


MORE GALLERIES


Topics

American Flamingo American Kestrel Anhinga Bald Eagles Barn Swallow Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Black-and-White Warbler Black-Crowned Night-Heron Caspian Tern Common Gallinule Common Yellowthroat Digital TV Eastern Bluebird Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Limpkin Little Blue Heron Loggerhead SHrike Northern Cardinal Northern Parula Orlando Wetlands Park Osprey Palm Warbler Prairie Warbler Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-shouldered Hawk Red-Winged Blackbird Reddish Egret Roseate Spoonbills Sandhill Crane Savannah Sparrow Snowy Egret Tricolored Heron Tufted Titmouse WESH-2 WFTV-9 White Ibis WKCF-18 WKMG-6 WMFE-24 WOFL-35 Wood Stork WRDQ-27

©2025 Roger Simmons | All Rights Reserved