Warbler Walk – Winter Migration Field Trip

Warblers and other migratory birds have started to return to our area. Please join us for a short walk and field trip to try to observe several species of wintering birds.

**11:45am** Meet at Oak and Palm Hammock trail parking lot at the Merritt Island NWR. We will bird start birding in the parking lot then progress to the boardwalk and the trail.
**1:15pm** Travel to MINWR visitor center for picnic lunch and to review checklist of all birds observed. This time is approximate and may vary depending on our sightings.
**** For anyone attending the Bagels and Buntings morning event at Merritt Island NWR you can refill your water bottle, get a free maps, and head to the Warbler Walk just down the road. ** Separate sign up for that event on Meetup.**

**Warblers we *may* see:** pine, black & white, American redstart, palm, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-throated. Possibility to observe Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian. We will also keep an eye out for Summer and Scarlet Tanagers and Swainson’s Thrush and Veery.

**Please bring:** sun protection, refillable water, picnic lunch, binoculars (let us know if you need a loaner pair)

Optional: Warbler Guide APP or folding guide. Trip Leader and Host will have Warbler Guide reference books and folding guides.

Logistics: No restroom or potable water at Oak and Palm Hammock trail. Restrooms, water and snacks available inside the MINWR Visitor Center. We will use the picnic tables outside (weather permitting) for our lunch gathering following the walk. The Visitor Center also has free maps of the Refuge with details about all the hiking trails. This trip has partial mobility access on the boardwalk and flattened dirt areas in the parking area to sit and observe birds.

Directions: Follow the A. Max Brewer Parkway (CR402) over the Max Brewer bridge in Titusville. Stay to the right when the road divides. Once you pass the Merritt Island NWR Visitor Center sign, travel 1.5 miles. Oak and Palm Hammock Trailhead will be on your left. Large parking area. We will meet in front of the trailhead information kiosk.

Trail Highlights: **Oak Hammock Trail** features tall oaks, sword ferns crowd densely along the trail. A dense canopy of oaks shades an understory of tall saw palmettos. Citrus trees grow wild here, a remnant of a homestead from the 1940s. Captain Douglas Dummitt established the very first citrus grove in America not far north of here in 1807. **Palm Hammock Trail** treats visitors to a lush forest of mature saw palmettos under a dense canopy of live oaks on the way to an island of cabbage palms.