On a recent trip to Florida for work, I had a free afternoon and visited the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and drove the 7 mile long Black Point Wildlife Drive where you can see and photograph amazing birds and other wildlife right from your car, as well as from viewing platforms and boardwalks.  The refuge, located next to the landing strip for the Space Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center, turned out to be a great location to see a wide variety of wildlife that I definitely don’t get to see in the Pacific Northwest, including many interesting birds (Florida bird photos to follow in later posts on the web site), alligators, bobcats and feral hogs.

The picture above is of a bobcat that I was lucky enough to happen upon late in the afternoon just before completing my drive around the Black Point Wildlife Drive.  The bobcat appeared to be stalking something in the grass and I was able to get a few pictures of it before it disappeared into the tall grass.

I also came a across the feral hog in the photo above not too far off of the road.  He looked up at the car in a way that made me happy that I was in a car and not too close!  There were also a few alligators hanging around such as the one below.

Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to explore Merritt Island and definitely hope to get back at some point in the future for a longer and more in-depth visit.  I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in birding or nature and wildlife photography!