After finding a site to view the launch and marking in on the GPS so we could find it again on Monday morning, we drove east from Titusville across to Merritt Island.
Merritt Island is home to the Kennedy Space Space Center. In most cases where the government needs large tracts of land for safety and security (such as rocket launching facilities, bombing ranges, and nuclear testing comes to mind), buffer areas in the vicinity make great wildlife refuges. Merritt island is no exception:
Turkey vulture.
Osprey on nesting platform.
Our first American alligator.
Tri-colored heron.
The kids find something in the shallows.
Tiny fiddler crabs.
Another tri-colored heron, actively chasing fish.
I think this wing flashing behavior startles its prey into moving.
Wing flashing again.
Roseate spoonbill.
Great egret.
Female anhinga.
Juvenile alligator.
