Day 7: NASA`s Kennedy Space Center

-

NASA`s vehicle assembly building

NASA`s Kennedy Space Centre 


Along the early drive in we see pelicans.

 

NASA`s Kennedy Space Centre is home to more than just pelicans though. It is actually a national wildlife refuge located on Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

 

The Florida scrub jay resides in the reserve along with the protected bald eagle. While manatees enjoy the 220 square miles of salt water estuaries that are a haven for seabirds. 

 

On the tour of the center by coach I spotted the largest American alligator of the whole trip hauling itself out of the water onto the bank opposite the road. The alligators around the center sometimes bask on the shuttle land way and so need to be removed. Gopher tortoises can also be found on the reserve. 

 

Organisms are often found within the kill range of rockets. The sound wave alone can kill from a launch.



NASA to tackle this have a team to remove wildlife from the danger zone. 

 

 

Walk around Archbold 

 


The final walk around Archbold was 12am at night in a small group. 

 

Saw more small frog species 

 

At the end of the driveway an armadillo crossed completely, as always, unaware of me three feet away.  


A bobcat was sighted at 12.30 am by those who returned to sleep. 






We found a wolf spider, that when held near, launched itself front legs up defensively and bit a stick. 

Wolf spider eating frog, morning 30/10/22


When scanning the bushes at the right height with a headtorch we discovered the glare from the eyes of small wolf spiders shining back. 

 


Return Journey


On the return journey, leaving at 5am, we went from Fort Myers to Detroit, Amsterdam then Manchester. We took the coach back to Bangor














Useful links:

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/merritt-island/about-us

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merritt_Island_National_Wildlife_Refuge


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 4: Manatees and Sea Turtles

-
Image
 30/10/22  28.88  °C Manatee Lagoon 11.00 am We, guided by a student at Florida Atlantic University called Sam, entered the eco discovery center at Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach Florida.  Manatee Lagoon was built by Florida Power & Light Company, who own the Energy Center next door. The center aims to educate the general public on manatees and wildlife, primarily in Lake Worth Lagoon.  Why manatees come to the center Manatees are of the family Trichechidae, closely related to dugongs (who don`t have the single tail pad) and elephants There are three species of manatees: Amazonian  West African West Indian In Florida they have a population of 6-10,000  Trichechus manatus ( West Indian manatees), specifically the subspecies Florida manatee. Manatees are marine mammals. They have vibrissae that help them feel their environment, a lower jaw and marching molars that continually move forward to replace teeth worn down by grazing. Their pregnancy lasts a year and they suckle young usi
Read more

Day 2: Corkscrew Swamp

-
Image
  28/10/22 Sunny 28  °C Corkscrew swamp We left for corkscrew swamp at 8.20 am and drew in at around 10am As I walked round to the center a cardinal bird was perched in a small tree. Here, we met Sharon, a volunteer who was to guide us round the reserves board walk Corkscrew Rookery The first threat to Corkscrew was plume hunting in the early eighteenth century. Egret and heron feathers were especially prized by plume hunters. To protect the birds, Rhett Green was hired as a warden and in 1913 began to act as a guide around the swamp. Their fate was further secured by the 1918 migratory bird treaty act banning the killing and trading of birds. The next wave of danger was logging in 1944. Pine was the most sought after then cypress. Cypresses were heavy and the wo od would sink, so waters had to be drained for a year before they could be cut down. Cypress Tree Locals, the National Audubon Society and other supporters bought the rookery to prevent deforestation. 5,680 acres were purchase
Read more

Day 6: Florida Gulf Coast University

-
Image
 1/11/22 Visiting Florida Gulf Coast University Stretching over 807 acres F lorida G ulf C oast U niversity is compiled of 347 acres of wetlands 23 of which have been created.       The University seems to have grown around these swamp areas with built-in canals for water flow under roads and carparks. If this was not enough, the organization even monitor the alligators on campus , which they track with collars and identify reasons of any deaths.       Water quality an d levels are also consistently measured     Invasive species such as melaleuca and brazillian pepper are removed by the grounds department while native species are planted. On top of this, trees are added to the tree orphanage. This is a system that replants native flora that needed to be removed to make way for buildings.     A t FGCU we met Edwin Everham , who affirmed that when building the University, sustainability was their first priority .      Everham took us around one of the lecture blocks. It was tall, sp
Read more