by Melanie and Jim
On our last full day in Florida, we headed to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge north of Kennedy Space Center. The wildlife site is accessible from the town of Titusville. After crossing the causeway from Titusville, we turned onto the Black Point Wildlife Drive. This is a seven-mile, one-way drive through marshlands.
As the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says, it “provides an excellent place to see waterfowl (in season), wading birds, shorebirds and raptors. Alligators, river otters, bobcats, various species of snakes, and other wildlife may be visible as well.” We saw no bobcats or snakes, and the velociraptors were hiding. But there were plenty of birds and alligators to enjoy. Zoom/drag or turn your phone in this interactive for a typical view of the area.
This Great Blue Heron stalked some lunch while we passed. It gave us some great views.
There are multiple places to leave the car and explore on foot. Once out of the car, you can get close enough to see small things, like these tiny fiddler crabs. They scurried in and out of burrows in the sand along the water’s edge. The largest is about 2″ wide.
While out of the car you do need to watch underfoot for snakes, and more generally keep watch for alligators. We saw these ancient beasts from the safety of the car.
This gator gave us a full-length show.
Ferocious Brown Anole were everywhere. This little one sunned itself on a curb (at the space center.) Note the cigarette butt nearby for a sense of scale.
Next time you go to Florida, make sure to spend some time appreciating the wildlife. These ancient wonders make a great counterpoint to the modern miracles of space flight and amusement parks.
Our View From Iowa 
Reblogged this on How I See It and commented:
Our view of a very low-tech place near the space coast.
Shoot! It’s sure too bad you didn’t see any velociraptors. That would have been the highlight of your trip!
That would have been fun,maybe.
Lovely (though I hope never to meet an alligator!)
We have some herons here, but we’re not on speaking terms as one of them ate our Koi some years ago…
Uhoh…the poor Koi. I understand. I watched carefully for any gators as we walked a trail.
I have a friend who frequents that area on a regular basis, and it’s always fun to see her photos.. I’m glad you were able to visit, too. I read right past “velociraptors” before I backed up and thought, “What?” I’d be just as happy to stick with the gators and snakes.
I heard a dissenting opinion re: the brown anoles a while back. They’ve been studying them here because they’ve moved in en masse, and some of the biologists are beginning to think that they’re co-existing better than was first thought. I can’t judge, of course, but I have dozens of the brown around my place, and I’m still spotting the green. I like them all — especiallly the babies. There’s nothing like an inch-long lizard to bring a smile.
Most of my Florida time has been around Pensacola or the Keys. I’d love to visit a place like this someday.
One more place on your list! Yes, I was kind of enchanted by these tiny lizards. They were as fascinating as the BIG ones, but not as scary. 🙂
Looks like an adventure!
It was. Thanks for taking a look.
There are not enough parks like this in FL – looks like a nice one!
It is in stark contrast to the high-tech world of space travel just down the road.
This is so cool! Thank you for sharing some excellent pictures – I felt like I was there. 🙂
We appreciate your comments. Thank you.
Hi Jim, you have a very nice picture fom the heron… we have in Germany/ brandenburg only great blue heron and egret… best wishes, Jan
https://wildlifeindeutschland.com/2018/03/17/zu-besuch-beim-eisvogel/
Thank you. We visited your link and enjoyed the kingfisher photos. They are interesting birds.
Lovely pics, thanks a lot for sharing! Stay in touch, following your blog…
Thank you. It was an interesting juxtaposition of the old of the marsh and the new of the rockets within eyesight. We look forward to your return and comments.