It was 32 Fahrenheit!

[Imber Eye]

It was so cold that in the morning I had to clear the frost from the windscreen - well done the MOD 90! My latest excursion to the warmth of Florida produced an annoying cold snap for 3 dyas which by the weekend was over. My visit to Sea World was therefore in more normal tempratures - very warm. I also discovered on this trip that I am a hero - it says so on my Sea World ticket. Handy hint - on production of ID card you get in free and can then enjoy the Kracken plus the excellent shows. Around the exhibitions there are quite a few gulls looking for the a bit of fish or discarded french fries!

Daylight hours are short at this time of year and most of them were spent in a windowless office though I did manage to get a few minutes in the morning or evening around the hotel. I also had a day at Merritt Island. The main event on the Island was the Black Point Wildlife Drive. This is a 7 mile auto tour through one of the best wildlife viewing areas. In addition to birds the drive produced alligators and an otter. Most of the area is marsh, swamp, water and a few trees. In one of the trees a Bald Eagle has a nest. We could see the parent but we were led to believe that there was a chick as well. The nest is enormous and we were fortunate that the parent was standing on the edge. A highlight of the drive was during a short walk away from the track when an Osprey decided to investigate us (my boss accopmanied me for some fresh air) and flew so close over us that you felt you could touch it. The main reason to go on the drive was to see ducks and the lagoons were filled with Blue-winged Teal and Northern Pintail as well as Coot. In one pond there was a huge flock of American Avocet in a small pond we found Roseatte Spoonbills then more in a larger pond. The 2 snow Geese and a Ross's Goose were seen close to the road amongst Wigeon. The air buzzed with Tree Swallows and on one stop I picked up a Northern Harrier hunting. After the Drive we went for a walk on the Scrub Jay Trail which did not live up to its name. We did find quite a few birds including an Eastern Towhee and a Limpkin. The drive to the beach did however produce Florida Scrub Jays sitting on bushes close to the road. There were more sightings of birds on the beach and some had feathers! The beach is close to the Shuttle launch pads and one is surrounded by cranes as they re-model it ready for the Mars missions. On the drive back from the beach we started seeing Ospreys with fish in their talons. At the Island Visitor Centre there were a pair on man made nest pole. One then took a fish from the water right in front of us. I missed it as I was looking at a Yellow-rumped Warbler at the time!

Unfortunately my plans for birding before and after work did not quite work out. I did see some Armidillos and mosquitoes which joined us during a game of softball (a misnomer if ever there was one) under floodlights. Despite the lack of opportunities my list for the trip was (59 species):

Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Northern Gannet
Anhinga
Double Crested Cormorant
Snowy Egret
Tricloured Heron
Little Blue heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Wood Stork
Glossy Ibis
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Northern Pintail
American Wigeon
Blue-winged Teal
Hooded Merganser
Bald Eagle
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Northern Harrier
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
Clapper Rail
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Limpkin
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Royal Tern
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Florida Scub-jay
Tree Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcathcher
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Common Crackle
Boat-tailed Crackle