Birds of Merritt Island – Part 1

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Earthwatcher, Florida, Fujifilm Cameras, nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
An image of a Blue Jay perched on a brown fence that is adorned by white bird droppings. The bird has a white face, breast, and belly with a black stripe above the beak, through the eye that continues diagonally down along the neck. Its cap, back of neck and wings are light blue. The wing has a white wing bar. The beak and legs are dark gray. The eye is black.
Blue Jay;
Hobe Sound, Florida, USA; FEB 2023

A few weeks ago, we visited Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Titusville, Florida, USA. We saw fewer species than we have seen during other visits. But we did see some of our favorites.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Image of a pair of Common Gallinules on a pond. The background is water colored mostly brownish green. At the top of the frame, the water has jagged stripes of white, gray and brown. The birds have a gray cap, neck, and breast. Its tail feathers form a triangle at the back of the bird. It is predominantly white with a black stripe at its top and bottom. Its wings are brown with a white stripe at its base. It has a black eye patch. The beak is red orange with a yellow tip.
Common Gallinule, aka Common Moorhen;
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA; FEB 2023

An image of a female belted kingfisher on a tree branch. The background is blue sky. At the bottom of the frame is the somewhat blurry green tree to. The tree branch is gray and is adorned with a gray, spaghetti like bindle of sticks. The bird has a dark gray head and black eye. At the base of the head, is a white neck ring. The beak is long and pointed; its color is dark gray. Its neck and belly are white and is bisected with a rusty orange stripe. Its wings are dark blue gray.
Female Belted Kingfisher;
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA; FEB 2023
A pair of Pied-billed Grebes floating on the water. The golden-brown pond water is the background. The head, neck and area below the feathers is light brown. The cap on its head and its back is gray. Is tail is the white tuft on the back of the bird. There is a white patch behind the beak, The beak is brown on type, white on the bottom with a black stripe circling it. Its eye is brown.
Pied-billed Grebe;
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA; FEB 2023
An image of a Red-winged blackbird sitting atop a shrub with leaves. The background is green with a light gray stripe, caused by the water, at the bottom. The shrub’s leaves are green, highlighted with yellow. The bird is all black. It has a patch of red feathers at the top of its wings. The patch has a yellow border at the bottom. The beak is gray, and the eye is black.
Red-winged Blackbird;
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA; FEB 2023

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One thought on “Birds of Merritt Island – Part 1”

  1. The grebe is one of my favorite birds! I think they just look so darn sweet. I love the black birds too. They are loud, but one of the first birds I heard when we discovered our wetland area back in 2020.

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