Wildlife Photography at Blackpoint Wildlife Drive

If you are looking for a place to capture images of wildlife, especially birds, then the Merritt Island Refuge is the place to go. With many trail options, both hiking and driving, the opportunities for good captures are endless. From the small green herons, to spoonbills, and great herons to gators, the diversity of wildlife you can see is outstanding! Black Point Wildlife Drive provides the opportunity to see the wildlife while in your car, it is great for people who are disabled and would not normally be able to get out and hike. It is also a great place to see the animals up close, as they are used to people snapping pictures! Black Point has a $5 entrance fee, and is open 7 days a week from sunrise to sunset. The visitor center, located at the entrance to the refuge, is open Open 9:00 to 4:30 weekdays and 9:00 to 4:00 on weekends.

Center is closed on Sundays from May - October and on all federal holidays. When driving to Black Point the road you drive in on is A. Max Brewer Memorial Highway, keep your eye out for gators crossing, vultures, bald eagles and osprey! When you first pull into Black Point Drive, I would suggest stopping at the first sign and taking pictures, there is where the majority of the birds will be.

The Merritt Island Refuge also has other loops that are great for short and long hikes, including Palm Hammock Trail, which is a 2 mile hike, and the Cruickshank Trail which is a 5 mile hike. Inside the refuge there are 310 species of birds, 25 different mammals, and 65 reptiles and amphibians, although the majority of animals you will see are birds and the occasional bird with a fish. We have spotted bald eagles on multiple occasions, and there are tons of osprey in the area. Gators are a common thing to site, especially in the winter when they get out of the water to sun themselves, and in the summer you can spot them on the roads as well as in the water.