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Merritt Island
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| Sunrise reveals a large flock of American Avocets actively feeding in one of the mosquito impoundments off of Black Point Wildlife Drive. | |
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| Avocet close-ups. | |
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| A Little Blue Heron hunts for prey alongside the Avocets. | A Great Egret looked like it was trying to keep warm against the early morning cold. |
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| Two Northern Shovelers represent only a fraction of the variety and number of ducks present in the Refuge during the field trip. | |
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| Wild Hogs forage along the opposite shoreline visible from Black Point Wildlife Drive. | |
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| A massive raft of American Coots noisily swimming around in one of the mosquito impoundments. | |
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| A Ring-billed Gull came down after a fish near the Coots. | The Gull enters the water headfirst. |
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| After a bit of thrashing around in the water the Gull flew off carrying what appears to be a Gar. | A small flock of Northern Pintail ducks risk death by flying out of the no hunting zone around Black Point Drive. The sound of gunfire from duck hunters in other areas of the Refuge punctuated the peaceful scenes around the Drive. |
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| The intrepid Pelican Island Audubon members who braved the inclement weather at Merritt Island for a full day of birding. Photo credit: unknown | A Roseate Spoonbill shows off one of the distinctive feature that gives the species its name. |
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| Two members of a larger flock of Roseate Spoonbills seen feeding just prior to the advent of rain showers that persisted throughout most of the day. | |
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| From Canaveral National Seashore, the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) is visible on Launch Complex 39A where it sits grounded until problems with the External Tank can be fixed. | Susan Boyd and Juanita & Richard Baker explore the Canaveral National Seashore located just adjacent to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. |
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Back in the Refuge, two Turkey Vultures squabble for possession of a dead Great Egret. |
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| A stealthy American Bittern keeps a watchful eye out for unwary frogs to make a meal of amongst the marsh grass. Photo by Richard H. Baker. | |
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| The toothy smile of an American Alligator seems friendly enough.... | |
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| A Belted Kingfisher caught hunting at sunset. | A Reddish Egret runs around looking for a meal. |
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| Reddish Egrets are known as "canopy feeders" from the technique of using their wings to shade the water as they go after prey. | A Roseate Spoonbill drops in to join the dinner crowd. |
| Images & text by Bob Montanaro unless stated otherwise. | |
All
images and text copyright Pelican Island Audubon Society. E-mail: piaudubon@bellsouth.net |
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