The Nature Side of the Space Coast - Canaveral National Seashore & Merritt Island

May 5th & 6th, 2022 Visits to Florida's Space Coast - Touring the Nature Side at Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island.
Titusville, Florida draws many visitors who wish to witness a rocket launch into space. The Kennedy Visitor Center has displays of all the Atlas through Apollo rockets, and the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
But visitors also can view the natural world and its residents along the seashore and Merritt Island. This is a sampling of what can be found, from tortoises obeying speed limits to dolphins rounding up an evening meal while we diners watch seabirds join in their feast.
The noise and rumbling of rockets launches has conditioned the wildlife to largely ignore our vehicles and even our climbing out to shoot photos and video from close up. A variety of water birds and ducks went about their busy day. Two bald eagles posed for several photos and video shots in a tall pine tree.
Manatee in the inland waterway channels rest near a drawbridge, several seafarers carried barnacles on their backs. On the dunes, swarms of dragonflies compete for landing pads as the sea breeze lifts their tails for another takeoff.
The scenes repeat as video from two different cameras is strung together from both days in this relaxing video tour of the natural side of Florida's Space Coast.