Waterfowl In The Wildlife Refuge

This afternoon my wife and I finally got a chance to check out the waterfowl in the wildlife refuge.

I had planned to do some fishing but the rods were left at the house and after talking to some of the guys bank fishing around the refuge, I didn't miss much.  Nobody seemed to be catching fish.

Anyway, the waterfowl were out in numbers that even avid birdwatchers would really appreciate.

As we entered the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, I was surprised at how low the water level was along the west side of the road.  Where I was catching rat redfish and sea trout a couple of months ago, there was only a mudflat loaded with sandpipers.

As we drove around Gator Creek and Catfish Creek Loop I took tons of waterfowl pics, some of which I have below.

We spotted mallards, teal, mud hens, ibis, pelicans, and even a few roseate spoonbills feeding in the shallows.   Definitely a duckhunters dream.

As we drove around Catfish Creek Loop, Karen and I came up on a huge gathering of Cormorants.  I have no idea why they were in this area in such great numbers but I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

 Click on the pic for a short video.

I'm not sure what the lone angler in the kayak was fishing for, but I don't believe he caught much around the birds.

As we drove around the refuge, I exited via East Gator Creek road to check out the mudflats in that area and took some pics of the area.

The pods of black drum feeding in the shallows in this area are now concentrated into the deeper areas along the main road.

As we headed for home, we spotted a family of Sandhill Cranes that didn't mind me taking their pic.

Although I didn't get any fishing in,  we thoroughly enjoyed watching the waterfowl in the area.  

Hopefully my work schedule will allow me to do some serious fishing in the next few weeks.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.