At 09:34 AM 3/15/99 -0800, Karen Mc Mains wrote:
>I'm off to Orlando for a conference the end of the month, and have a couple
>of extra days for exploring. I've never been to Florida nor spent time
>anywhere in the SE.
>
>I'm looking for places to see birds and manatees and other wildlife--in the
>wild, not at Disney!--any suggestions, or pointers to good guidebooks or web
>sites?

Head east on the Beeline Turnpike, turn north at
the coast to the town of Titusville, then east
to Merritt Island NWR. Great birding there. It's
only a bit over an hour, say an hour and a half
or perhaps two if you get stuck in traffic, from
Orlando. Easy day trip. Roseate spoonbills,
wood stork, all the heron and egretty things,
basically the stuff you go to Florida to see
in the bird world.

Someone else will have to help with manatees.



- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net