Day 120: April 29th – Some fond Florida farewells

83 degrees under mostly sunny skies, light south wind

       On our way back to New Smyrna Beach where we will begin packing up for our trip back to the Empire State, we decide to make a quick run through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We’ve spent a considerable amount of time at the refuge this winter and it has been very productive with such highlights as a Cinnamon teal, Eurasian wigeon, Painted bunting, White morph of the Reddish egret, and more.  This is our last trip through Merritt this year, and we are hoping just to see enough to give us a sense of closure to this winters stay.

       One of the first sightings we have along the roadside is most appropriately the Florida scrub jay.  We’ve been able to find these birds almost on demand this year, and it’s wonderful to see how well they are thriving in the nesting areas provided and protected by the refuge.  Knowing we won’t see these scrub jays again until next winter adds to the bitter-sweet sentiment of leaving Florida once again.

       We pulled into the Biolab Road Boat Launch for one last look at another of our favorite and most productive birding haunts this winter.  Again, as if to say, "see you next January", a fine Great blue heron poses for a shot.  We know we’ll see other Great blues when we return north, but it’s different when they are nestled among the mangroves of the Florida waterways.

       Next to bid us a fond farewell is the gentle giant of the calm rivers and canals, the manatee.  So typical of the manatee’s behavior, we can see the big fella just lying below the surface until finally he rises, gives us a quick glance, and then sinks down below the murky water once again.  Another symbol of Florida wildlife we’ll dearly miss.

       Finally, as if to go out with a flourish,  I get to photograph a dolphin driving fish into the shallows for its early afternoon meal.  The dolphin would simply cruise back and forth in the shallows of the Haulover Canal in Merritt Island until it was ready to “herd” the small fish it was hunting up towards the “skinny” water of the beach.  From dead calm to a maelstrom in a matter of seconds.  What a way to say, “Remember me” from this most charismatic mammal. 

       One more day here in the Sunshine State before its time to say good-bye for another year.  We are anxious to return to the Hudson Highlands after almost 4 months on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but we will certainly look forward to our return next winter.  Each landscape has so much to offer and we are indeed fortunate to be able to experience so much of what this