Field Trip Guidelines:  Field trips are open to anyone interested in birding. Non-members are welcome.  All trips are free unless the locale has an entrance fee or a charge for parking. We recommend sturdy shoes, comfortable clothing, insect repellent, sunscreen, and water or other suitable beverages. Please contact the trip leader to indicate that you plan to attend and to get any information about changes in plan.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Sand Point Park. It is on the north side of Max Brewer Parkway, the second entrance immediately before the bridge. There are restrooms available. From there we will make two other stops before beginning the seven-mile Blackpoint Drive. For the drive there is a $10 admission fee per car or an America the Beautiful pass. There are restrooms at approximately the half-way point. After Black Point Drive, there is a nice restaurant nearby, with outside tables, or you can bring your own lunch.

Afterward we can go to Haulover Drive if the American Flamingos are there. 

Or we can go to Canaveral Seashore to see Florida Scrub-Jays and to look for shorebirds and hopefully to see the Northern Gannets diving. The admission fee for the National Seashore is $25 or the America the Beautiful pass.

Our trip leaders, Eileen and Jim, live in the area and are very familiar with this wildlife refuge.

Most of the participants will have made this a two-day trip, having visited Orlando Wetlands on Wednesday afternoon.