While walking the trails of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, I came upon this branch, unconnected to any tree but help by a vine's grip. "Air plants," of the genus Tillandsia. This type of air plant grows on tree branches (or anything else) and derives its food from sunlight and water from the air.
This framing of the branching hanging down in the center, flanked by a palm tree trunk on the left and Florida scrub palmetto on the right.
The top third contains the more dramatic plant, while the lower third contains the larger.
The middle third contains nothing.
Fox found it interesting.
Space Coast Photography Studios
- They/Them
- heronfox.pixels.com/
Two Central Florida photographers with an interest in nature, landscape, bird, flower, space, technology, and architecture photography.
posts from @HeronandFoxPhoto tagged #Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
also:
A Snowy Egret (Egretta Thula) comes in for a graceful landing in a brackish pond in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The Snowy Egret preys on small fish, crustaceans, and insects in the marsh. Snowy Egrets in Central Florida usually stay year-round, or may just stay the winter and return north.
Two Roseate Spoonbills (Platalea ajaja) at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR), just north of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, stand in the conserved wetlands area.
MINWR is one of the northernmost places where the Roseate Spoonbill can be found natively.
Their red coloring, like flamingos, comes from pigments in crustaceans that make up an important part of the spoonbill's diet.
After NASA was given all of Merritt Island for its operations, it realized it would only need about 10% or so for most operations, and so handed off most of the northern part of the island to the Department of the Interior to manage as the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Normally open to the public, MINWR is a thriving environment with thousands of species, including some endangered, find a unique habitat in the brackish swamps. Public access is via road, and there are driving and hiking trails throughout the Refuge. MINWR is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail complex. The Snowy Egret is frequently seen at MINWR, and this is a picture of a flying egret coming in for a water landing in one of the many partly-salty ponds in the swamp.