A couple of weeks ago, I visited Vero Beach, Florida with my family. Vero Beach is on the Atlantic side of the state and like most parts of Florida, fantastic for connecting with nature. The birding is incredible, even in the less active and very hot month of June. The toughest decisions I had to make while I was there was where to go explore. I woke up most mornings early enough to watch the sun rise over the ocean and saw the tracks of sea turtles that had crawled in the sand the night before. I made sure I did some inland birding as well. The best spot I found was probably the marshes of the Indian River County Wastewater Treatment Facility but honestly there was stuff to see everywhere I looked. Overall, it was just an awesome experience with a handful of life birds including: Crested Caracara, Gray Kingbird, Roseate Spoonbill, Reddish Egret, and King Rail (heard only).  I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from my trip but if anyone wants more details about any locations or advice on where to go if you're heading to the area, let me know.

Ghost Crabs were quick to appear and quicker to disappear on the beaches

White Ibis were very common, but I never got sick of seeing them

Obligatory Brown Pelican over the ocean shot

A Willet was a relatively familiar face 

Green Sea Turtle eggs that an awesome Biologist dug up to show me

Pelican Island is the first NWR in the country and they had a boardwalk that lists all of them

A very GREAT Blue Heron (they seemed bigger in Florida)

Roseate Spoonbills are relatively common in this area but they were a lifer for me

Northern Cardinals were in full song quite often and very common

The Supermoon!

Sunrise

Black Vultures were all over the place as well

Common Gallinule chicks

Alligators are common in the right places

Airboat Ride through the gator swamp - highly recommended

Red-shouldered Hawk

Little Blue Heron

Tri-colored Heron

Anhingas are one of my favorite Florida birds

A female Wood Duck gave me a stare down

Green Heron

Crested Caracara was a lifer - finally!

Swallow-tailed Kites are always exciting to find

Sea Turtle tracks were fun to discover in the mornings

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

There were a good variety of Butterflies around

And to end, another sunrise