The view of Viera Wetlands from the dike road upon our arrival a little after 8AM

This Tricolored Heron was creeping along near the edge of the water at the base of the dike.

Anhinga preening

White Ibis

Anhinga drying its feathers

Anhinga before a field of pickerelweed

Great Blue Heron

Pickerelweed

Duck Potato flowers

Great Blue Heron making its way through the pickerelweed

Wildflowers

There was a tree full of Black Vultures at the turn of the dike road.

White Ibis in flight

Alligator

White Ibis

Boat-tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle

Duck Potato on a bed of pickerelweed

White Ibis and Great Egret

Female Boat-tailed Grackle with a snail

Great Egret

Little blue wildflower

Tricolored Heron

Cattle Egret in flight

Two headless juvenile Great Blue Herons on their nest

Juvenile Great Blue Herons show their heads

Anhinga nest on the left and Great Blue Heron nest on the right

Adult Great Blue Heron with two juveniles at the nest

Adult and juvenile Great Blue Herons

Adult Great Blue Heron feeding one of its demanding offspring

It's hard to tell what's happening here!

Juvenile Great Blue Herons fight over some food the parent has brought.

Juvenile Great Blue Herons wrestle with some morsel their parent has brought them.

The parent takes the opportunity to make a getaway.

Cattle Egret in flight

Young Anhinga drying

The flowers look like our ironweed.

Two Great Blue Herons

Webbed feet of a young Anhinga

Great Blue Heron crossing the road in front of us

Great Blue Heron

Mottled Ducks

Boat-tailed Grackle

Common Gallinule

Tricolored Heron

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret in flight

White Ibis

Little Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Male Red-winged Blackbird displaying to a female

Female Red-winged Blackbird

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron among pickerelweed

White Ibis on a palm stump

A raccoon ran across the road in front of us and down to the water.

Juvenile White Ibis

Boat-tailed Grackle

Two Solitary Sandpipers find each other at Viera Wetlands, FL

Two Solitary Sandpipers

Courting Solitary Sandpipers

Mating Solitary Sandpipers

Jan got out of the car to photograph a heron.

As we left Viera Wetlands, we stopped to photograph some wildflowers in the median...

...and some Glossy Ibis.

Immature Glossy Ibis on the median outside Viera Wetlands

Glossy Ibis

We also noticed this Loggerhead Shrike in a nearby tree across the street.

Nearby was an immature Loggerhead Shrike.

Immature Loggerhead Shrike

Immature Loggerhead Shrike

Wildflowers in the median

After leaving Viera Wetlands, we drove to Titusville for lunch at Dixie Crossroads before going to Black Point Drive, where this dragonfly was one of the first creatures we found.

Gaillardia along the road on Black Point Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL

Another dragonfly

Gaillardia

Green Heron

Green Heron

Steve, out of our rental car, trying to get a better photo

Tricolored Heron

Killdeer

Semipalmated Sandpipers

Semipalmated Plover

Yellow wildflower

Semipalmated Plovers

Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plovers

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Green Heron in top of mangrove

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpiper

Dragonfly

Reddish Egret

Immature Little Blue Heron

Immature Little Blue Herons

Fly on a flower

Interesting fly

Greater Yellowlegs

Roseate Spoonbill

Lyside Sulphur? butterfly

Roseate Spoonbill in flight

Reddish Egret spreading its wings

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret dancing in shallow water off Black Point Drive

Great Blue Heron in flight

Reddish Egret prancing in the water

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret dancing with spread wings

Reddish Egret taking flight

Greater Yellowlegs

Jan, photographing the Reddish Egret

Jan, waiting for the Reddish Egret to prance again

Jan

Did she get the shot?

Jan, trying again to capture the Reddish Egret

Sulphur butterflies on gaillardia--two sets of antennae

Sulphur butterfly on gaillardia

Black-necked Stilt

Mottled Ducks

Three Black-necked Stilts

Pied-billed Grebe

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbills

Roseate Spoonbills moving their bills from side to side as they walk

Roseate Spoonbills

Reddish Egret

Male Yellow-shafted Flicker with black mustache

Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, showing its yellow shafts in its wings

Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, showing its yellow shafts in its tail

Double-crested Cormorant

American Coot

Grumpy old Great Blue Heron

This looks like our Lisianthus

What is this bird?

This bird seems to have a white rump.

Sky over Black Point Drive

Juvenile and adult Common Gallinules

Common Gallinule chick

Adult Common Gallinule

Juvenile Common Gallinule shows off its big feet

Juvenile Common Gallinule

Juvenile Common Gallinule

Common Gallinules

Common Gallinules

Alligator

Juvenile Common Gallinule

Common Gallinule chick

Female Boat-tailed Grackle

Snowy Egret

Common Gallinule chick

Common Gallinule chick

Common Gallinule chick

Common Gallinules

Common Gallinule chick

Common Gallinule chick

It's a wonder any of the gallinules survive with neighbors like this 30-40 feet away.

Mourning Dove at the edge of the road as we were leaving Black Point Drive

Red wildflower

Red wildflower

Dried thistle heads

White Ibis in flight

Red wildflower

After leaving Black Point Drive, we drove over to the Canaveral National Seashore and found this big terrapin in the parking lot.

Mary provided a little scale for the big turtle.

We walked up the boardwalk from the parking lot to the Atlantic Ocean and Jan took some photos down the coastline.

The Atlantic Ocean from the Canaveral National Seashore

Sea grapes growing along Canaveral National Seashore

A squadron of Brown Pelicans flew north to south along the coastline.

Ruddy Turnstone foraging along the shore

The Ruddy Turnstone found a small shellfish in the sand.

Ruddy Turnstone with shellfish

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

White Ibis foraging along the shore

The White Ibis didn't avoid the surf like the turnstone did.

White Ibis in the surf along the Canaveral National Seashore

Another White Ibis joined the group.

White Ibis

This White Ibis found something in the surf.

White Ibis with a small crustacean

White Ibis

The squadron of Brown Pelicans came back up the coast from the south.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans overhead

Driving away from the seashore, we passed this Gray Kingbird.

Then we came upon a pair of Bobwhite Quail; here, the male.

Male Bobwhite Quail

Female Bobwhite Quail

Male Bobwhite Quail

Female Bobwhite Quail

Female Bobwhite Quail

We started down Bio Lab Drive and saw this juvenile White Ibis.

Great Blue Heron on Bio Lab Drive

Alligator along Bio Lab Drive

We did not have time to finish the Bio Lab Drive before it closed for the day, so we left the area. As we were leaving, this cat came out onto the road in front of us--looks like a dark Florida Bobcat.

Bobcat at dusk near Bio Lab Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

Dark Florida Bobcat

After the bobcat disappeared into the grass, this snake came out onto the road.

Is this a Corn Snake?

Snake

Osprey