Spending July 4 with birds at Merritt Island

Despite the gloomy weather for the long three-day weekend, I went out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on the morning of July 4 to celebrate our independence … with birds, of course.

The birds didn’t seem to care about the holiday, and the humans seemed to be sleeping in for it – so it was great to get some quiet time out in the refuge.

Here are some of the birds — and one non-bird creature — I came across.