Friday night we had thunderstorms, followed by an incredibly windy Saturday, and a freezing cold Sunday. One of those days that while cold is bright and sunny and beautiful! A great day to be out. The birds, however, looked like they weren’t too happy about the temperature…

The coolest thing I saw was 100 or so American White Pelicans flying over. Seemed like they just kept on coming… such large and graceful birds.

The beauty of Merritt Island never fails! I can not tire of it. This week there was a new addition, a very large colony of Avocets. I love them, they are such elegant birds.

And then ducks, so many the water seems to be COVERED in feathers from their preening!

Here are some birds from Merritt Island a few days ago. There is so much to see, I could be there all day. There was a Bittern attracting the most attention, I didn’t take any photos because it was just so crowded.   The Horned Grebe is my favorite! It’s so cute.

Horned Grebe

Green Heron

Coots

Northern Shovelers

Glossy Ibis

Wilson’s Snipe

Roseate Spoonbill

Northern Pintail

Reddish Egret

Pied-billed Grebe

American White Pelicans

Great Blue Heron

The birds out at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge seem to have doubled since I was last out there! There are Pintails, Mergansers, Shovelers, and many more. The Horned Grebe is the star, it is so cute!! They were pretty far out so I didn’t get a photo, but I enjoyed watching them all with my binoculars. It was about 80 degrees out there yesterday in the late afternoon, warm and sunny. I checked Black Point Drive, Bio-Lab, and Playalinda. Lots of seaweed on the beach. Here are a few photos: