Today was such a BEAUTIFUL spring-like day that I really wanted to do something outside. Reese was at the SPCA doing some volunteer work, Mark was resting, and so Erik, Nikolai and I decided to go for a drive out a little past Titusville to the Black Point Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island (near the beach).

It was sooooo nice out there, and though I didn't bring the right lens for my camera (grrrr...!!) I did get some nice pictures. I couldn't get the captions feature on One True Media to work this time, so I'll have to explain what the pictures are of:

The first bird that you will see is the Great Egret (it's white, and flying). This one is my favorite, and I see them all over the place around here. They are very tall all-white birds with very, very long, skinny necks. It's also in the very last picture.

The pinkish birds are roseate spoonbills. They are like a combination of a duck and a flamingo! When they are in the water, their pink is rather dull, but with a darker pink stripe. When they fly or stretch their wings, however, their pink is BRILLIANT!!!

One huge gray and white bird that is pictured toward the end is an Anhinga. These birds don't have oil on their feathers to keep them waterproof (or something), so they open their wings wide to the wind so that they can air dry. Unfortunately, the picture that I took didn't turn out too great, but it was still cool, so I put it in here.

The picture at :43 is of several roseate spoonbills in the foreground. Behind them is a marsh, and behind that in the back, is the Vehicle Assembly Building where the Space Shuttle is housed. Cool, huh?

I was hoping to get out of there without seeing an alligator (I am NOT a fan of alligators), but nope. Didn't. The view of this one was so spectacular though, that I couldn't help get out and take a picture. I'm guessing he was 8 - 10 feet long. A big 'un!!

Hope you like my slideshow and enjoy the beautiful scenery here in east central Florida. :o)