Author Archives: makielb

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. IContinue reading “Back to Merritt Island for more natural history fun”

Jacco, another friend from Ann Arbor came to visit Don and Loree for the day. Jacco, Don and I spent the morning driving the beach looking for bird. There were a lot of gulls and terns, like the Royal Tern, on the beach. But we had a special target to get for Jacco. The sunContinue reading “Looking for birds with another friend”

It’s funny how the world works. Sometimes I think that the computer is spying on me. Just a few days ago Susan and I were talking about the differences between the three temperature scales and how to calculate the differences. Then this cartoon shows up on my Face Book feed. Watching Osprey working on theirContinue reading “Exploring new areas in Florida”

Not every day is warm and sunny, even in Florida. So, what do you do? Laundry was the start of the day. But there’s a lot of time waiting. There was a game to play while we waited. But Susan opted to read about moths. and i wasn’t up to an operation. So I wentContinue reading “A cold rainy day in Florida”

Today we spent time at the Wiregrass Prairie Preserve south-west of New Smyrna Beach. The main trail (at least for the orange trail) winds through a prairie and into pines. This is a grassland habitat that is dependent on fire to keep it this way. As you look to the sides of the trail throughContinue reading “Wiregrass Prairie Preserve”

We had a full day at Merritt Island on Kennedy Parkway, Palm Hammock Trail and Eddy Creek. Some of the highlights included excellent looks at a group of four Florida scrub Jays. There was a pair of Red-shouldered hawks about 100 yards down the road, which didn’t seem to bother the jays. We found aContinue reading “A full day at Merritt Island and Daytona Beach”

An early, cool start with occasional light rain, which had cleared by the time we reached our destination. This was a South Volusia Audubon Society field trip that I was co-leading with Don. There were seven of us in three cars. One of our first birds was an Eastern Phoebe. We soon started finding aContinue reading “Visiting Apopka Wildlife Drive”

Orlando Wetlands is a great site in Orange County, Florida for seeing a diverse array of birds. How can a day be bad when you start with such a great look at an Anhinga, knowing that it will only get better. Vultures might not be a favorite of everybody, but I really like them. Here’sContinue reading “A day at Orlando Wetlands, Florida”

The sign where we are staying, just south of New Smyrna Beach read Welcome to Paradise, not knowing that we already have a cabin in Paradise. The view from our screened in porch to the tidal canal, about ten yards away. The view down the canal towards the ocean. The setting sun from the patio,Continue reading “A new place to stay and a night with insects”

We spent the afternoon at the Turtle mound Trail in the Canaveral National Seashore. This is a site that I have always loved visiting. We have a good idea of what to expect in February, but there are always surprises. The small bees and wasps are always fun as well as identification challenges. This spider,Continue reading “A day at Turtle Mound, Canaveral National Seashore”