Merritt Island is one of the top birding destinations in Florida, so it was a location we couldn’t miss on our 2014 tour of the state. We stayed in the Hampton Inn in Titusville, which gave us easy access to the island and we spent two full days there enjoying the excellent birding that the reserve has to offer.
A highlight was the Black Point Wildlife Drive, which is a 7-mile one-way road that gives you excellent views across the lagoons and waterways of the National Wildlife Refuge. There are a number of pull-ins and side trails that allow you to stop and observe the wildlife.
Waterbirds we saw while on the Black Point Wildlife Drive included Lesser Yellowlegs, American Avocet, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tricoloured Heron, White Ibis, Northern Pintail and Hooded Merganser.
Caspian Terns were criss-crossing the lakes trying to catch fish, which gave another challenging photo opportunity.
No birding trip to Florida would be complete without seeing the only species endemic to the state, the Florida Scrub-Jay. We were lucky to come across these very tame birds at Merritt Island on the Scrub Ridge Trail where they posed well for us.
While driving across Merritt Island we were surprised to see a Long-eared Owl on a dead tree beside the road. We just had time to jump out of the car and get a couple of shots before it flew away.
Towards the end of the day we spent time photographing the Black Skimmers as they repeatedly passed across the waters of the reserve trying to catch fish. Photographing these fast-moving birds is always challenging as they are often at a distance, but a couple of our favourite shots from the session are below.
After touring the reserve we spent time on the shore where we saw Royal Tern, Laughing Gull, Ruddy Turnstone and Brown Pelican.
