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.
UCF is one of my favorite places to spend time in the fall, cheering on the Knights football team with my family and friends. But it’s also become a place I like to go to in the spring and early summer, thanks to the variety of birds that call the UCF Arboretum home.
