Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Comprised of 140,000 acres of salt marsh, freshwater impoundments, brackish estuaries, hardwood hammocks, pine flatwoods and scrub, the Refuge remains unsurpassed as a refuge for endangered wildlife. It supports more threatened and endangered animals than any other refuge in the continental U.S., including the Florida manatee, Bald Eagle, Wood Stork, gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake. Over 6,000 alligators call it home.

Birding a variety of habitats on the Refuge can be exceptionally rewarding, particularly from November through March. Impoundments and saltmarshes offer the most diversified viewing opportunities. One of the most popular areas of MINWR, the world renowned Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, offers visitors an opportunity to observe birds and wildlife without leaving their vehicles. Peacock’s Pocket, Gator Creek, Shiloh Marsh, Biolab and L Pond Roads offer more opportunities to bird and photograph from a vehicle. MINWR offers more than 40 miles of drivable dike roads. Within hardwood hammocks, you’ll find excellent birding for warblers and other songbirds during migrations.

321-861-0668       www.fws.gov/merrittisland/

Canaveral National Seashore

CNS offers a rich array of birding pleasures: access to the beach for shorebirds, gulls and terns; elevated platforms on the dune line to scope for migrating raptors along the shoreline and gannets and jaegers out at sea; winding trails through maritime hammock for Painted Buntings and migratory songbirds; and vantages of the lagoon where waders, shorebirds and rafts of migratory ducks seek shelter and food. This property is one of the best sites in Florida to scope offshore for seabirds. You might even spot one of the world’s most endangered large whales, the northern right whale, which calves here in winter.

There is more to CNS than just its beaches; more than 100 Native American Indian shell middens are located within the park. One of these is the 60-foot-high Turtle Mound, which is also one of the best sites on Florida’s East Coast for viewing raptors during migration. Winter birding can often be quite good along the Oak Hill waterfront. To access the waterfront, go east from U.S. 1 at the blinking yellow caution light in Oak Hill. Entrance fee

Directions: The south entrance is reached from Titusville. Take SR 406 east and veer right (east) onto SR 402. Proceed through Merritt Island NWR to the entrance station. Watch for Florida scrub-jays near the station. The north entrance is reached from New Smyrna Beach. Go east on SR 44 to Highway A1A. Go south on A1A seven miles to the park entrance.

321-267-1110
www.nbbd.com/godo/cns
www.nps.gov/cana

Riverbreeze Park

Directions: From the blinking caution light on US 1 in Oak Hill, go north about two miles. Turn right on H.H. Burch Rd. The park is located at the end of the road on the north (left) side.

386-345-5525       www.volusia.org/parks/