We had a delightful and interesting visit to the Brevard Zoo in Viera (Melbourne), Florida on Friday the 3rd. We were over there also visiting Viera Wetland (2nd & 3rd) (article to come) and also went to the Atlantic shore for a few minutes that evening (the 2nd). Some of the highlights were that Galah landing on Dan’s camera. See Just Back From A Birdwatching Adventure – Viera. Luckily I had my own camera and was able to “capture the moment.” What was so interesting about that Galah is that he (or she) had become intrigued by Dan’s camera. A child tried to offer it some of the liquid they sell to feed the birds, but no, the camera was more interesting. (This picture is not good, but it show the action)

Then the Galah hopped up on his camera.

What a gorgeous color and nice bird.

In that same area I got a great picture of a Laughing Kookaburra. Couldn’t get it to laugh, but I tried. Sure the others around thought I was nuts, but who cared.

The photo at the top was a challenge to photograph. My camera is a point and shoot on program mode. Do you know how many fantastic photos I have taken of fences, wires, cages, limbs, grass, etc. instead of the bird or whatever?

With some patience and lots of tries, I can get a little better shot.

Here is the list of wild birds I turned in to eBird:

Walking around the Zoo – these are the wild birds freeloading at the zoo – 16 species

Mallard (Domestic type) 10

Great Blue Heron 2

White Ibis 18

Black Vulture 6

Turkey Vulture 1

American Coot 2

Eurasian Collared-Dove 1

Mourning Dove 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker 3

Downy Woodpecker 2

Fish Crow 7

House Wren 2

Pine Warbler 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1

Northern Cardinal 2

Boat-tailed Grackle 50

Besides all of those of course we saw the residents of the Zoo. All total, counting the wild birds we saw 48 of God’s wonderfully created birds. Some of them were absolutely fantastic. Even the ugly ones were wonderfully created for their purposes and place in the overall plan the Lord has for them.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they (we) are without excuse: (Romans 1:20 KJV)

 **Due to my site being hacked, some of the photo links were removed**

Birds observed at Brevard Zoo:
Total observations: 48
	English name	Scientific name
1	Southern Cassowary	Casuarius casuarius
2	Emu	Dromaius novaehollandiae
3	Wild Turkey	Meleagris gallopavo
4	Black-bellied Whistling Duck	Dendrocygna autumnalis
5	West Indian Whistling Duck	Dendrocygna arborea
6	Coscoroba Swan	Coscoroba coscoroba
7	Black Swan	Cygnus atratus
8	Raja Shelduck	Tadorna radjah
9	White-cheeked Pintail	Anas bahamensis
10	American Flamingo	Phoenicopterus ruber
11	Chilean Flamingo	Phoenicopterus chilensis
12	Marabou Stork	Leptoptilos crumeniferus
13	American White Ibis	Eudocimus albus
14	Scarlet Ibis	Eudocimus ruber
15	Roseate Spoonbill	Platalea ajaja
16	Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias
17	Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus
18	King Vulture	Sarcoramphus papa
19	Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus
20	Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus
21	Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis
22	Northern Crested Caracara	Caracara cheriway
23	American Coot	Fulica americana
24	Black Crowned Crane	Balearica pavonina pavonina
25	Sandhill Crane	Grus canadensis
26	Blue Crane (Stanley)	Grus paradisea
27	Masked Lapwing	Vanellus miles
28	Eurasian Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
29	Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura
30	Galah	Eolophus roseicapilla
31	Cockatiel	Nymphicus hollandicus
32	Rainbow Lorikeet	Trichoglossus moluccanus
33	Hyacinth Macaw	Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
34	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Ara ararauna
35	Scarlet Macaw	Ara macao
36	Golden Parakeet	Guaruba guarouba
37	White-crested Turaco	Tauraco leucolophus
38	Laughing Kookaburra	Dacelo novaeguineae
39	Wrinkled Hornbill	Aceros corrugatus
40	Southern Ground Hornbill	Bucorvus leadbeateri
41	Red-bellied Woodpecker	Melanerpes carolinus
42	Downy Woodpecker	Picoides pubescens
43	Fish Crow	Corvus ossifragus
44	House Wren	Troglodytes aedon
45	Yellow-rumped Warbler	Dendroica coronata
46	Myrtle Warbler	Dendroica coronata
47	Boat-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus major
48	Northern Cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis

There were other animals at the zoo, but our main focus was on the birds. It is a very nice landscaped zoo and the over-all appearance was great. The critters all seemed to be well taken care of. It is definitely worth a visit to the Brevard Zoo if you are in that area. It is actually listed as being at 8225 North Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL 32940. Update: 2/11/12  –  Dan just posted his photos on his photography website. His photos at –  Dan’s Pix –  are much better than mine, of course, he has a better camera. Will be doing an article on our visit to the Viera Wetlands soon. *