Third Annual Space Coast Flyway Festival
Titusville, Florida
November 11 – 14, 1999Sponsored by Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, Indian River Audubon Society, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore
The Titusville Area Visitors Council invites you to share in the wonders of nature and space at the Third Annual Space Coast Flyway Festival. Join us for seminars, field trips and workshops in one of the most unique natural settings in the world. Compete for thousands of dollars worth of prizes in a countywide bird watching competition. Find out why Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to more species of endangered plants and animals than any other wildlife refuge in the continental United States.The late fall season in Florida is the most beautiful time of the year. Cool fronts move in and diminish the fiery heat of summer. Wildflowers bloom profusely and butterflies and dragonflies flutter about in the crisp clear air. Manatees bunch up, getting ready to move to warmer waters when serious cold weather threatens. Fall leaf colors have just begun here, long after the leaves have fallen in cooler climates. Songbird migration is nearing the end, however there is usually enough stragglers around to make things interesting. Many of the winter migratory birds are already here escaping the cold weather farther north.
The Space Coast Flyway Festival offers participants many opportunities to get out and enjoy the beauty and wonderful climate of Florida's Space Coast. Take a kayak trip to a large wading bird rookery island. Paddle through a canal where manatees are gathering for winter migration. Take a horseback ride through beautiful wildflowers in the Florida pine scrub habitat. Or take an airboat ride and go gliding across the grasslands surrounding the beautiful St. John's River. Take a slow ride through a Florida paradise and watch the sunset bird show on a hayride at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
One of the festival highlights includes a slide show and lecture by Dave Breininger on Florida Scrub Jays. After the seminar, you can board a NASA tour bus for a trip to restricted areas of the Kennedy Space Center where Dave has been studying several scrub jay families for years. Learn about the fascinating social structure of these interesting birds, the only bird endemic to the state of Florida. Dr. Paul Schmalzer will point out the unique plants found only in Florida's ancient desert like scrub communities.
Join the Wildlife Biologist Steve Nesbitt for a fascinating slide show and seminar on the "Reintroduction of the Whooping Crane to the Southeast". The first experimental non-migratory flock of whooping cranes is located just west of here. Join a motorcoach tour for a trip to the Forever Florida Conservancy where you will board custom made, photographer friendly, "cracker cruisers" for a trip into the Florida dry prairie habitat. On the tour you will pass through dry prairie, cypress swamps, grasslands, pine woods, creeks and dense oak hammocks. You may see alligators, bald eagles, deer grey foxes, otters, snakes, sandhill cranes, wild turkeys, vultures and hawks – maybe even a caracara or a whooping crane. Wildlife biologists from the Whooping Crane Reintroduction Program will be joining the motorcoach for the trip to Overstreet Ranch, site of the whooping crane releases.
Enjoy a sunset walk with wildlife biologist Mike Legare at the St.John's National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is closed to the public so take advantage of this rare opportunity to experience this pristine marsh. Mike will talk about black rails, their secretive habits and the research he conducted on these elusive birds at this site. As dusk approaches listen for black rails calling. Maybe you'll get lucky and see one.
Florida harbors a wide range of blooming wildflowers throughout the year. Learn about the fascinating lives and lore of both the familiar and seldom seen botanical treasures of our area at this beautiful time of the year. Don't miss this unique opportunity to spend time in the field with one of Florida's leading wildflower experts, Dr. Walter Taylor.
Ride with Buck and Linda Cooper, Florida butterfly experts, as they tour the rural areas of North Brevard County. During the tour the Coopers will discuss the life history of butterflies, plants that attract them, and the adventures they had while traveling the state to reach their goal of photographing every species of butterfly found in Florida. You'll thoroughly enjoy spending time with this entertaining couple as the search for the "Sparkling Jewels of Florida".
These are just a few of the field trips offered at the Space Coast Flyway Festival. Some of the other seminars offered will be about shorebirds, with a shorebird identification field trip following, manatees, indigo snakes, and "Wildlife Photography". Beginning birding classes will be offered and other birding field trips are being planned.
A countywide birding competition will take place with several categories for contestants. Grand Prize is four Leica Telavid spotting scopes to the winning team. Second prize is four Pentax binoculars. Other prizes include vacation packages for the Space Coast, artwork from local wildlife artists, trips and tours from various local wildlife tour operators, and many other prizes.
We hope you will join us for a look at one of the most unique areas on earth. There are places at Canaveral National Seashore where you can face north and see the coast of Florida as it looked hundreds of years ago – no buildings or seawalls, just sand and dunes. Then you can turn around and gaze upon some of the world's most advanced technology – the facilities that launched man to the moon.
PRESS RELEASE -- February 15, 1999