It’s one of my most un-favorite times of the year – when the temperatures start soaring and the number of migrating birds starts dropping.
Fortunately, I live in a great spot for year-round birding with places such as the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge nearby.
A recent trip to MINWR turned up only one straggler for migration season – a Solitary Sandpiper (how appropriate!). The other birds were “regulars” who hang around the refuge all year – and I am thankful for that.
But even with these very familiar birds, I do find entertaining moments photographing them, as you will see below.
Juvenile Little Blue Heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Juvenile Little Blue Heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Green Heron with a shrimp, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Green Heron loses its shrimp – which flies over the bird’s head, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Juvenile White Ibis with a catch, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Tricolored Heron with a catch, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.A very disheveled looking Tricolored Heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Roseate Spoonbill, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Roseate Spoonbill, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Northern Flicker, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Northern Flicker, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Solitary Sandpiper, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Solitary Sandpiper, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.Solitary Sandpiper, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.When there aren’t birds, how about butterflies? Southern White Butterfly, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, May 2025.
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.
I visited near sunset on Tuesday and ended up seeing three sets of youngsters – baby Roseate Spoonbills, baby Great Egrets and, of course, Sandhill Crane colts.
