The Procession, Winter Migrating Coots At Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
by Felix Lai
Title
The Procession, Winter Migrating Coots At Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Artist
Felix Lai
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
This photo captures a "procession" of winter migrating coots at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The Wildlife Refuge is one of the premier sites for bird watching especially in winter as it is in the path of migrating birds in North America.
Coot (Small Water Bird)
Coots are small water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica, the name being the Latin for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. They are close relatives of the moorhen.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000 acres (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island. NASA's Kennedy Space Center and visitor complex are also situated on the island and 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.
* Copyright Felix Lai. Watermark will not appear on final print of the photograph.
Uploaded
January 16th, 2020
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