Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Dunlin

     One of the best known meccas for Florida birding (or birding across the country for that matter) is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  Comprised of 140,000 acres of diverse habitat, the refuge was originally created as a buffer land around Cape Canaveral Space Center.  During its early years, NASA used this area as its primary launch site for all of the early space program launches - Apollo, Gemini, the Space Shuttle etc.  The area was a vast wetlands and was infested with mosquitos.  To help mitigate the problem and make conditions more bearable for its many employees, the government developed a series of impoundments with controlled flooding to help control the biting pests.  As a byproduct, the newly created temporary pools served as an inviting habitat for resident and migratory birds.  Ducks, shorebirds, waders, migratory songbirds, and more all find refuge at Merritt Island during the winter months and even into the sweltering summers of coastal Florida.

Bald eagle parent

     We visited MINWR this past Sunday and found that there were many "signs of spring" as many of the birds have begun pairing up, building nests, and rearing their young.  Although it's still February, the temperatures here in Florida are now hovering in the 80 degree area and with hurricane season long past, the time is right for procreation of the species.  Our first stop as we drove into the refuge was a spot where we have seen a Bald eagle's nest with activity is the past and now, more recently.   We were not disappointed.  Last month, we spotted a pair of our national symbols perching on and near the nest.  So happy to see that this nest survived the ravages of Hurricane Irma this past season!  Today, we were thrilled to see that the fruits of their labours have arrived.  On the nest, we found one parent carefully guarding her two new eaglets.  Dad was off hunting but soon arrived with a nice sized fish for the hungry brood.  Mom hopped off the nest and perched next to the nest as Dad tore bits and pieces from the fresh catch and fed his hungry offspring.  While visible through the scope, it was difficult to get a clear image of the feeding frenzy through the branches, but the perched adult was more than willing to pose for her portrait.

Great horned owl

     Further down the entrance road into the refuge, we found another proud parent tending to her young.  A Great-horned owl was perched upon an old osprey nest along with two very young owlets. Owls are not known as great nest builders.  They prefer to move into vacated nest of other birds like eagles and ospreys.  The ospreys are not the greatest nest architects in the avian world and their nests often look more like a pile of sticks and other refuse found around the nest site.  I once saw a rubber doll incorporated into the nest of a more "stylish" osprey!  Regardless of how attractive the nest is, the owls are more than willing to move in "as is" and will make good use of the otherwise abandoned site.  While the owls are small, mom and dad must remain nearby to prevent larger predators from seizing the young ones as a fresh meal, so you never see a nest with young ones without a parent either on the nest or nearby.  We'll continue to monitor this nest as well as the eagles in the hopes that the youngsters will survive and thrive right up to fledging time.

White pelicans

     We continued our trip by riding down Biolab Road, a one-way dirt road which parallels the Indian River Lagoon.  More impoundments are found on the western side of the thoroughfare and provide great habitat for the overwintering guests.  One of the most attractive of these is the White pelican.  These giant birds (second only to the California Condor in size in North America) are easily found as their brilliant white plumage glistens across the vast expanses of wetlands.  We found a group flying in to a deeper pool to feed as we scanned the horizon.  As the winter wears on, the pelicans will begin to "stage" or gather together in preparation for their annual journey back home to northern North America.  At these times, we will find hundreds of the pelicans in great flocks feeding together "fueling up" for their long flight home to the northern plains.  Like so many human "snow birds", some will stay behind here in the sunshine state and spend their summers in Florida rather than heading back to the plains states.

Roseate spoonbill

     Another attractive bird found here in Florida that chooses to remain here year-round is the Roseate spoonbill.  If you can get passed the not-so-gorgeous face, the striking plumage of the bird is one of the most spectacular you'll find in the wetlands of Florida.  Nesting in the mangroves, they feed upon crustaceans which they stir up in the shallows by swinging their paddle shaped bill through the water.  This bird was seen flying over the reeds not too far from where we had just seen the White pelicans.

Blue-winged teal pair

     After our ride along the 5.5 mile Biolab Road, we headed over to the ever popular Black Point Drive, an 8 mile loop through another part of the reserve.  During the winter months, the drive is a magnet for waterfowl, waders, shorebirds, osprey, harriers and eagles.  As the year proceeds, the cast of characters will change - almost day to day!  There are still many ducks here, but many have already departed.  Today we found a lone pintail (here in large numbers earlier this winter), several Gadwall, a few Green-winged teal, some shovelers, and hundreds of Blue-winged teal.  The teal seem to be the last ducks to head north.  Although they will nest in the northern half of the country, they have already begun to pair up.  Of the hundreds of blue-wings we found, it was difficult to find any that were alone.  Virtually all were found in male-female couplets.  Another sign of spring!

     Finally, as we exit Black Point Drive, we hear the "Spring of the yearrrrr" song of the Eastern meadowlark.  This is another sign that spring is on the way here in the sunshine state. Although present throughout the state through the year, they are much more evident as spring arrives and the males begin to sing their songs to establish their breeding territory.  One of the wonderful things about spending winter here in Florida is that the season unfolds in so many different ways.  We look forward to the next couple of months as more and more species begin to move out of and through the state on their way north to their summer breeding territories.

Eastern meadowlark

Photography Tech tips:  Today, we found ourselves photographing many brilliant white species...Snowy egrets, Great egrets, the White pelicans, White ibises and more.  When photographing these birds under the brilliant sunshine, it is easy to record images which are "blown out" or overexposed.  The camera will calculate the exposure based upon the whole scene, not just the white bird.  To compensate for this, it is often necessary to lower the exposure of the image by at least .7 to 1.0 full stops.  Using the Exposure Compensation adjustments available on virtually all digital SLR cameras, set the compensation to -.7 to underexpose the bird and maintain the detail.  Exposure compensation features for each camera will be found in the users manuals and are generally straight forward as to how to make this adjustment.  For dark birds like vultures, blackbirds, grackles, etc. the procedure is similar except you will have to overexpose the image to pull out the detail of the birds dark plumage.  The compensation will therefore be +.7 or more.  Remember...... a minus (-) compensation when you are shooting white birds, and a plus (+) compensation when photographing black birds.