Having extra days off over Christmas week gave me time to explore some new birding locations, and one of them was Smyrna Dunes in Volusia County.
This 184-acre park is on a peninsula between Ponce Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean at the north end of New Smyrna Beach. You can walk along the water or on the more than 2 miles of elevated boardwalk at the park. More about the park here.
I went hoping to see White Pelicans, and I did — but they were pretty far off in the inlet. But I was able to get some photos of some other shore birds, and a (seemingly) roaring gopher tortoise.
Osprey with Ballyhoo, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Brown Pelican, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.American White Pelicans, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.American White Pelicans, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Bonaparte’s Gull, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Juvenile American Herring Gull, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Ruddy Turnstone, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Sanderling, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 2025.Gopher Tortoise, Smyrna Dunes Park in Volusia County, December 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.
