Merritt Island trip nets two new birds and some familiar ones

Roger Simmons,

With the addition of two new birds that I spotted on Sunday at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, my Bird Catalog total now is 120.

The two newcomers came from high and low.

There’s the Great Horned Owl, who I spotted off in the distance up high. And there’s a little Killdeer, who was wading around below the road in a marsh area.

The Great Horned Owl was hanging out in a pine tree near Blair’s Cove and Haulover Canal when I first saw it. As I mentioned, it was pretty far away – and even with my Sigma 150-600mm lens, I didn’t get as clear a shot as I would have liked.

A Great Horned Owl takes in the scene from high above the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in July 2023.

The Killdeer was with a group of other shore birds in a marsh along the Black Point Wildlife Drive. The others flew away, but this one was content to let me take its photo.

A Killdeer, which isn’t really a threat to deer, wades in a marsh at the Black Point Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island in July 2023.

I almost wonder if it had a nest nearby since it seemed to feign an injured wing at one point. That’s a trademark of this bird; when it wants to try to lure intruders away from its nest, it pretends it’s injured.

And, though not new to me, I saw more Green Herons on this trip than I have ever seen before. There’s a hatchery along the Black Point Drive where adults, juveniles and very young Green Herons were hanging out.

Overall, even with it being the slow summertime for birding, it was a great trip. And I saw some creature that weren’t birds at all.

It was a hot day but it still seemed unusual for this Green Heron to wade into a pond up to its neck on the Black Point Wildlife Drive.
This Green Heron is drying off after taking a dip in a pond on the Black Point Wildlife Drive.
This Green Heron is trying to get the sun to help dry its wings after swimming in a pond along the Black Point Wildlife Drive.
A very young Green Heron peeks out from the mangrove along the Black Point Wildlife Drive in July 2023.
This Green Heron is having a bad-hair day at the Black Point Wildlife Drive.
A female Northern Cardinal calls out to someone along the Black Point Wildlife Drive.
A little Gopher Tortoise looks mighty ferocious in this closeup photo as he walks along Scrub Ridge Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
This Red-bellied Woodpecker seems like it’s trying to remember which hole is home in this dead tree at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
A Tricolored Heron wades in a pond looking for a meal along the Black Point Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island in July 2023.
A Belted Kingfisher rests on a powerline at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in July 2023.
A Swallow-tailed Kite flies high above the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in July 2023.
A Killdeer, such as this one at Black Point Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island, is easy to ID because it’s the only shorebird with two black neck bands.
A Killdeer feigns a broken wing to try to distract me – away from a nest, perhaps?
This manatee swimming in Haulover Canal on Merritt Island comes up for a breath of air in July 2023.
Birds Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

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