March 7, 2024
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Last Look – Spring 2024
This passion butterfly, also known as the Gulf fritillary butterfly, alights on a flowering plant in the Viera Wetlands.
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This passion butterfly, also known as the Gulf fritillary butterfly, alights on a flowering plant in the Viera Wetlands.
This solitary, red-shouldered hawk seen near Christmas [the town, not the holiday] was scanning the grasslands and swamps in his purview. According to the Florida Wildlife Federation, “a common hawk in the eastern United States, the red-shouldered hawk exists all over Florida.
As 2023 draws to a close and we celebrate the holiday season, may you enjoy a wonderful 2024 on the Space Coast with all its wonder and beauty, a place we are fortunate to call home.
Over a narrow passage along Blue Cypress Lake, a proud osprey protects its catch. Having already eaten the head of its catch, this bird will now take what’s left back to the nest where feeding will resume. Blue Cypress Lake is about a half-hour from Vero Beach.
A fisherman heads out onto Blue Cypress Lake from Middleton’s Fish Camp near Vero Beach as the sun rises. Lined with cypress trees, the lake has great fishing in wonderfully clean water. Florida’s Most Beautiful Lake is also a popular osprey nesting area and part of the Blue Cypress Conservation Area and the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.
The roseate spoonbill [Platalea ajaja] is a large gregarious wading bird known for its pink plumage and distinctive spoon-shaped bill. Reaching a height of up to 2.5 feet, its wingspan can reach up to 4 feet. The roseate spoonbill, which can be found in Florida, Texas and southwestern Louisiana, uses its spoon-like bill to scoop prey up from shallow water. It is believed the bird…
This colorful belted kingfisher perches on a branch waiting for a small fish to swim by along Black Point Wildlife Drive in the Merritt Island National Seashore.
A limpkin basks in the morning sun at the Orlando Wetlands Park.
A tri-color heron flies low over a pond in Viera looking for an unsuspecting fish.
A scavenger and broad-winged opportunist that often feeds on carrion, the Crested Caracara is widespread in the American tropics. The word caracara comes from a South American Indian name, based on the bird’s call. When seen for the first time, it might look like a bald eagle with a bad hairpiece. To see the strikingly patterned Crested Caracara up close, visit the Brevard Zoo.
