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    Home » On the Road

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

    Published: Apr 16, 2016 · Modified: Apr 19, 2018 by Chef Dennis Littley

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    When most people think of Florida they think of theme parks and beaches. But sprinkled throughout the state are state and national parks and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorites to visit!

    Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Roseate Spoonbills in flight

    In 1963 when the government started doing space launches from Cape Canaveral they knew a buffer zone would be the best way to ensure their privacy. So they created a 140,000-acre wildlife refuge, which just so happens to sit beneath the Atlantic flyway, which is a migratory route for birds.

    Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    White Ebis and Snowy Egret

    The Wildlife Refuge is the perfect location for about 330 species (including bald eagles) that make their homes in Florida for at least part of the year. The area is also inhabited by manatees, sea turtles, bobcats, and alligators, complete with a manatee observation deck. It’s also a great spot for canoeing and kayaking.

    Cape Canveral
    Visitor’s Center

    Best of all is that in addition to a wonderful visitors center, which carries a wealth of reading material and features a short boardwalk that offers a glimpse of the surrounding environment, the Black Point Wildlife Drive is a seven-mile loop road where the environment completely surrounds you as you drive along viewing shorebirds, wading birds and waterfowl. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can wander off the trail using footpaths that lead deeper into the marshes. I stayed on the trail!

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Alligator

    Of course these guys had nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t wander too far from my car.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Dark Morph Reddish Egret

    The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats. Coastal dunes, saltwater marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals including 140+ species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 358 birds, and 31 mammal species (15 of which are federally listed as endangered species).

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Great Egret

    There are so many beautiful birds to see at the refuge and so many delicious photo ops!

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Great Blue Herron

    There aren’t too many places where you can find such a diverse bird population and the Wildlife Refuge is a great way to see all these beautiful creatures co existing in nature.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
    Roseate Spoonbill

    The Roseate Spoonbill has become my favorite bird and they certainly are plentiful at the Merritt Island Refuge.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Roseate Spoonbill in flight

    Not only are they unique looking with their spoon shaped bill, they are a joy to watch. Those powerful wings are functional as well as beautiful.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    White Ebis in Flight

    Make sure to bring a good lens and the longer the better. I shot these with my new 100-300mm lens that I bought specifically for wildlife shots.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral
    Common Gallinule

    The Common Gallinule is another of my favorites. Vocal and boldly marked with its orange bill, the species can be quite conspicuous, sometimes using its long toes to walk atop floating vegetation.

    If you’re in the mood for a little beach time, the Playalinda Beach is part of the Canaveral National Seashore and is just about a 20 minute drive from the refuge.

    The Kennedy Space Center is also a great way to spend the day. If you’re in the area, you can read more about the Space Center on my blog.

    Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge-

    Refuge roads, trails and boat ramps are open from sunrise to sunset daily. Bairs Cove boat ramp is the only boat ramp open for night launching. 

    To reach the Visitor Information Center, continue 4 miles past the Refuge entrance (remain to your right at the fork in the road) and the Visitor Center entrance sign will be on your right. 

    The Visitor Information Center is open 9 am to 4 pm daily November 1 through March 31. April 1 through October 31 the Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm. It is closed most federal holidays.

    For more information you can go to their Website and follow them on Facebook.

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    About Chef Dennis

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    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

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    1. Vicky

      April 19, 2016 at 12:30 pm

      I’ll go to such places to find and watch rare animals. Florida is great, right? Please also protects them together. I love animals.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        April 19, 2016 at 5:52 pm

        Florida does take care of their wildlife Vicky, its a great state to life in

        Reply
    2. Larry

      April 16, 2016 at 9:23 am

      We”l keep this in mind for our next Florida visit.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        April 16, 2016 at 10:50 am

        It’s a beautiful area of Florida Larry and close to many other attractions.

        Reply

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