Merritt Island & Orlando Wetland

The bed at the Titusville Hampton Inn was very comfortable, so we slept until 5:30. We did a couple of language lessons on Babbel before going to the breakfast area with Mark and Cindy. There was a selection of muffins, bagels, toast, Belgian waffles, potatoes, cheese omelets, sausage, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, oatmeal and an assortment of cold cereals. There were several choices of coffees and juices as well.

Grackle visiting Mark

Cindy checked us out online, and we left for the Black Point Wildlife Drive again. Because the air was still cool in the early morning, we saw fewer alligators than yesterday but many more birds. In some areas many varieties of heron, egret, ibis and storks were congregated. As we neared the end of the loop road, we stopped to observe some wading birds. A large grackle landed on the hood of the car and looked at us through the windshield. It jumped to the mirror on the driver’s side of the pickup and looked in at us while vocalizing. Another grackle landed on the roof of the pickup. We suspected that people had been feeding the birds, so they were trained to mooch food from passersby. We started to drive away slowly but the two grackles stayed on the pickup’s roof for a time hitching a ride.

Osprey with a fish

Our next stop was back at the Merritt Island visitor center where we asked about bird viewing opportunities nearby. The volunteer suggested we go out Peacocks Pocket Road, a short drive from the visitor center. After turning off the road, we drove out the gravel access to the locked gate at the water’s edge. We walked along the elevated path for a little over a mile seeing a lot of grackles, ibis, herons and egrets. The only things that we hadn’t already seen were some of the small wading birds resembling sandpipers. We walked back to the pickup and drove to the Orlando Wetlands.

Purple Gallinule

The Orlando Wetlands is an impressive site. Treated wastewater from the city enters the site where plant life continues the purification process. This 1600-acre wetland is home to huge numbers of waterfowl, wading birds, songbirds, alligators and other wildlife. The visitor center is less than a year old and is well laid out and inviting. Staff and volunteers were very helpful. Although there were many visitors, including tour buses, the facility didn’t seem crowded.

Roseate spoonbill feeding hatchlings

We walked across the boardwalk to a place where roseate spoonbills, wood storks, and herons were nesting. The hatchling spoonbills, called “teaspoons” by some, already have the characteristic pink color of their plumage. As we watched the parent birds tending the young, we observed several turtles of all sizes swimming in the clear shallow water. We stayed at the rookery for some time then continued the boardwalk to the trail through the marsh rejuvenation. From the signage we learned that wetlands will eventually become clogged with debris. About every 30 years the area must be drained so the composting material can be hauled away for recycling as agricultural supplement. As we were finishing the trail and nearly back to the visitor center, we observed a sandhill crane on a nest in the marsh. The bird was well camouflaged, so we nearly missed seeing it.

Basking alligator at Orlando Wetlands

Back at the pickup we had a snack of rice cakes, peanut butter and trail mix before driving back to Homosassa. When we got to town, we drove the pickup through the car wash then to Walmart.  Mary and Cindy picked up salads for dinner while Mark and I topped off the truck's gas.

At the house, we unloaded the pickup and talked to Mike and Pam about the possibly rabid raccoon that was in their yard, It had fought with Bubba, one of their dogs. Mike killed the raccoon and turned it over to animal control for testing. Their dogs would have to be quarantined for 10 days until the raccoon’s rabies test results were in, even though both dogs had been vaccinated against rabies.

Turtle swimming at Orlando Wetlands

Mark and I took his dogs for a quick evening walk while Mary prepared dinner of salad and a turkey breast that I had smoked in December. Everything was very good.