Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

12/23/08 - 12/29/08

Merritt Island is a 43 mile long barrier island on the Atlantic coast of Florida. In the 1960s, NASA purchased the island to build the Kennedy Space Center. All the land not needed by the space program was converted to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore.

Black Point Wildlife Drive is a seven mile road through freshwater and saltwater marshes in the wildlife refuge. I drove this route on multiple days and nearly all of these photos were taken from my RV on these drives. I've found that it's usually easier to get closer to the wildlife when you're in a vehicle. They seem to be more wary if you try to approach them on foot.

American Coot
Steve Winker