Birding Trip to Merritt Island

This weekend, we went on a field trip with Tampa Audubon to the Viera Wetlands and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Brevard County, on Florida's East Coast, near Cape Canaveral. The Viera Wetlands are part of Brevard County's water treatment and reclaimation system, located near the New Town of Viera and the A.Duda Sod Farm. The Duda family started planning Viera in the 1980s, and A. Duda and Sons has been operating sod farms since the 1970s. In addition to LOTS of birds, we saw a river otter, wild hogs, and a turtle at Viera Wetlands.

Sandhill cranes near the town of Viera

There was a caracara at the Viera Wetlands.

Along with an uncountable number of coots, only a tiny, tiny percentage of which are shown in this picture.

Sod farm

On the way to Merritt Island NWR, we stopped at Parrish Park, which is just on the other side of the Max Brewer Bridge from Titusville. The Max Brewer drawbridge is the longest swing bridge in the state, and one of only two existing historic deck girder swing bridges in Florida. The bridge is scheduled to be replaced by a high, fixed-span bridge.

Our group leader identified 92 different species, and I saw 60 or so. Some of my favorites are the sandhill crane, pie-billed grebe, roseate spoonbill, and peregrine falcon. My list for the trip:

pie-billed grebe

white pelican

brown pelican

American bittern

great blue heron

great egret

snowy egret

little blue heron

tricolored heron

reddish egret

cattle egret

green heron

white ibis

glossy ibis

roseate spponbill

wood stork

tree swallow

mockingbird

yellow rumped warbler

palm warbler

red-winged blackbird

common grackle

boat-tailed grackle

black vulture

american widgeon

blue-winged teal

northern shoveler

northern pintail

green-winged teal

lesser scaup

hooded merganser

ruddy duck

osprey

bald eagle

northern harrier

red-shouldered hawk

crested caracara

American kestrel

peregrine falcon

wild turkey

common moorhen

American coot

sandhill crane

killdeer

American avocet

greater yellowlegs

willet

sandpiper

marbled godwit

ruddy turnstone

short-billed dowitcher

laughing gull

Bonaparte's gull

ring-billed gull

herring gull

black-backed gull

Caspian tern

royal tern

Forster's tern

rock dove

shrike