The Flickr Titusville Image Generatr

Dixie Crossing Restaurant

Dixie Crossing Restaurant

Dixie Crossing Restaurant

11 Apr 2025 Orlando (MCO) Oranjestad (AUA) B738

11 Apr 2025 Boston (BOS) West Palm Beach (PBI) B738

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I photographed these Glossy Ibises along the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast.
The Glossy Ibis is a mid-sized ibis which ranges from 19 to 26 inches (48–66 cm) long, averaging around 23 inches (59.4 cm) with a 31 to 41 inches (80–105 cm) wingspan. Each wing measures 9.8 to 12 inches (24.8–30.6 cm), and the tail is 3.5 to 4.4 inches (9–11.2 cm). The body mass of the Glossy Ibis can range from 1.069 to 2.138 lbs. (485 to 970 g). Breeding adults have reddish-brown bodies and shiny bottle-green wings. Non-breeders and juveniles have duller bodies. This species has a brownish bill, dark facial skin bordered above and below in blue-gray (non-breeding) to cobalt blue (breeding), and red-brown legs. Unlike herons, ibises fly with necks outstretched, their flight being graceful and often in "V" formation. It also has shiny, iridescent (the iridescence is seen above) feathers.
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000-acre (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island and immediately to the north of the NASA Kennedy Space Center. One thing not realized by its visitors is that NASA can restrict access to the refuge based on its operational needs. The NWR contains over 1000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 mammal species, of which 21 species are listed as endangered by the state of Florida or by the US federal government. Management of the NWR is provided through the Merritt Island NWR Complex, which provides hiking and driving trails for the public, subject to access restrictions from NASA. It is a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Additional information on the Glossy Ibis may be found at Wikipedia.
Additional information on the Merritt Island NWR may be found at Wikipedia

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I photographed this Tricolored Heron Strolling the Shallows at the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast. The Tricolored Heron, formerly known as the Louisiana Heron, is a small-medium species of heron native to coastal parts of the Americas; in the Atlantic region, it ranges from the northeastern United States, south along the coast, through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northern South America as far south as Brazil. In the Pacific region, it ranges from Peru to California, but it is only a nonbreeding visitor to the far north. Tricolored Herons breed in swamps and other coastal habitats. They nest in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch, three to seven eggs are typically laid. This species measures from 22 to 30 inches (56 to 76cm) long and has a typical wingspan of 38 inches (96cm). The slightly larger male heron weighs about 14.6 ounces (415g) on average, while the female averages about 11.8 ounces (334g). It is a small-medium, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long, pointed, yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip and its legs and feet are a dark yellow. Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back, and upper wings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long, blue or white, filamentous plumes on their heads and necks, and buff ones on their backs. The Tricolored Heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so, much like the Reddish Egret. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000-acre (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island and immediately to the north of the NASA Kennedy Space Center. One thing not realized by its visitors is that NASA can restrict access to the refuge based on its operational needs. The NWR contains over 1000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 mammal species, of which 21 species are listed as endangered by the state of Florida or by the US federal government. Management of the NWR is provided through the Merritt Island NWR Complex, which provides hiking and driving trails for the public, subject to access restrictions from NASA. It is a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Additional information on the Tricolored Herons may be found at Wikipedia.
Additional information on the Merritt Island NWR may be found at Wikipedia.

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.

Titusville (/ Cocoa Beach) - Space Coast Regional (Space Center Executive / Tico) (TIX / KTIX)
Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
Titusville, FL

Epps 1907 Monoplane (replica) c/n JP3, N1907, Untitled

Displayed in the lobby of the Valiant Air Command Museum. Built by John D Pruett, and model listed in the FAA Registry as JP3. More recent research has shown that the original Epps Monoplane was actually the first such to fly in the US, and that it first flew in 1909, rather than 1907 as previously recorded.

Fram2 is the world’s first astronaut mission to polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch into a 90° circular orbit from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit.

Camera Time

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I photographed this Great Horned Owl (with a branch across his “horns”) standing on a branch a couple of hundred feet (60m) from the side of the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast. I estimated that this was a male because it was about 300 feet (100m) away from a female sitting on her nest with two chicks. The Great Horned Owl, also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air") or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Its primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice, and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. In ornithological study, the great horned owl is often compared to the Eurasian eagle-owl, a closely related species, which occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia despite its notably larger size. The great horned owl is also compared to the red-tailed hawk, with which it often shares similar habitat, prey, and nesting habits by day; thus the red-tailed hawk is something of a diurnal ecological equivalent. The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America, often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds.
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000-acre (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island and immediately to the north of the NASA Kennedy Space Center. One thing not realized by its visitors is that NASA can restrict access to the refuge based on its operational needs. The NWR contains over 1000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 mammal species, of which 21 species are listed as endangered by the state of Florida or by the US federal government. Management of the NWR is provided through the Merritt Island NWR Complex, which provides hiking and driving trails for the public, subject to access restrictions from NASA. It is a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Additional information on the Great Horned Owl may be found at Wikipedia.
Additional information on the Merritt Island NWR may be found at Wikipedia.

Details best viewed in Original Size.

I photographed this Tricolored Heron atop some semi-submerged vegetation at the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast. The Tricolored Heron, formerly known as the Louisiana Heron, is a small-medium species of heron native to coastal parts of the Americas; in the Atlantic region, it ranges from the northeastern United States, south along the coast, through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northern South America as far south as Brazil. In the Pacific region, it ranges from Peru to California, but it is only a nonbreeding visitor to the far north. Tricolored Herons breed in swamps and other coastal habitats. They nest in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch, three to seven eggs are typically laid. This species measures from 22 to 30 inches (56 to 76cm) long and has a typical wingspan of 38 inches (96cm). The slightly larger male heron weighs about 14.6 ounces (415g) on average, while the female averages about 11.8 ounces (334g). It is a small-medium, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long, pointed, yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip and its legs and feet are a dark yellow. Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back, and upper wings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long, blue or white, filamentous plumes on their heads and necks, and buff ones on their backs. The Tricolored Heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so, much like the Reddish Egret. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000-acre (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island and immediately to the north of the NASA Kennedy Space Center. One thing not realized by its visitors is that NASA can restrict access to the refuge based on its operational needs. The NWR contains over 1000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 mammal species, of which 21 species are listed as endangered by the state of Florida or by the US federal government. Management of the NWR is provided through the Merritt Island NWR Complex, which provides hiking and driving trails for the public, subject to access restrictions from NASA. It is a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Additional information on the Tricolored Herons may be found at Wikipedia.
Additional information on the Merritt Island NWR may be found at Wikipedia.

This roseate spoonbill was seen foraging in shallow water on Merritt Island near Titusville, Florida.

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