I love when old cartoons pop up from the past. This one was from 2017.
One of the first plants that I found at the Merritt Island Visitor Center was this beautyberry. It’s hard to believe that a berry can actually be that color.
One of the birds I will be will be Ospreys. I am enjoying seeing several (or many) every day, often at or near a nest.
The Visitor Center at Merritt Island is always a good place to find Painted Buntings. This time the birds were at the feeders, not hight in the nearby trees like the previous visit.
Christmas lichen, whether cover the side of a tree or a single specimen is always a favorite to see.
After leaving the Visitor Center we drove Biolab Road. We were fortunate in seeing 4-5 dolphins in the close shallow waters.
Near the end of Biolab Rd. we came across a Great Blue Heron that had caught a snake. The heron flew off with lunch as our car approached. Now we were headed to Eddy Creek along Playalinda to have the lunch that Susan made.
We walked the north end of the beach looking for several shorebirds that I heard were being seen in this area. Other than a few gulls, terns and shorebirds that we had already seen we had to settle for some Portuguese-man-of-war and a few nude sun-bathers.
It was fun seeing the variations in Forster’s Tern plumages as we searched for shorebirds.
Walking back to the car we found some Palm Warblers and as we pulled away located a nice Gopher Tortoise.
The structures at the end of Playalinda and along Kennedy Parkway reminder us that this was a space center.
When we got back to New Smyrna Beach we had enough time to stop at Oceans Seafoods to get some grouper and shrimp.
More tomorrow…
Michael's Place 