I found my bliss on February 7th when I had the opportunity to be surrounded by beautiful birds while simultaneously escaping the New England winter for a while.

If you visit Eastern Central Florida, I strongly recommend a trip to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, east of Titusville, FL.  This 140,000 acre refuge was established in 1963.  Bordering Cape Canaveral, the area serves in part as a buffer zone for space exploration and is closed to the public during shuttle launches.  The refuge, which is half brackish marsh, provides habitat for over five hundred wildlife species including fifteen on the endangered and threatened lists.  Four hiking trails are available ranging in length from ¼ mile to five miles.  

I chose the refuge’s 7-mile Black Point Wildlife Drive to explore and it did not disappoint.  Birds are in greatest abundance here October through April and fantastic songbird migrations may be witnessed in the spring and fall.  Merritt Island N.W.R. is a breeding area for bald eagles, brown pelicans, osprey, wood storks and mottled ducks.  Manatees may be viewed from an observation deck when the waters are warm.  I thoroughly enjoyed several hours photographing wood storks, egrets, roseate spoonbills, black skimmers, herons, various species of ducks and even an alligator or two while basking in the warm sun and the serenity of nature in this lovely part of Florida.    

For more information on Merritt Island: www.npwrc.usgs.gov.