Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Titusville, Florida

2009 WATER ADVENTURES

With an abundance of rivers, creeks and estuaries to explore, these trips were selected to showcase some of the Space Coast’s very best locales. Estuary trips may provide glimpses of bottle-nose dolphins, but sightings of manatees in open estuarine waters at this time of the year would be rare due to cold temperatures. The weather can be very uncertain at the end of January. It is advisable that you contact your outfitter on the afternoon before to make sure weather conditions are conducive to running the trip. Please meet outfitters at the sites 15 minutes before the times indicated. No food will be provided on the kayak trips. Dress warmly; rain gear will help to keep you dry. Bring water, snacks, hats and sunscreen.

Please register directly with these Water Adventures Proprietors.
Their telephone numbers are provided in their activity descriptions on this website and on pages 46 and 47 of the Program Book.

Boat Tours Biogeography of the Thousand Islands
Kayak Trips Fox Lake & South Lake Haulover Canal & Mullethead Island Mosquito Lagoon from Riverbreeze Park Pelican Island		Pine Island Conservation Area Thousand Islands Turkey Creek

Boat Tours
Biogeography of the Thousand Islands
Jan. 24 & 25, 9:00am-12:00pm; $35/ person; Tour limited to 16 persons.
Wildside Tours (800) 695-1770 Register directly with this business.
Trip Leaders: Capt. Ben Evans and Jim Eager
www.wildsidetours.com for a map and more information.
Directions: From I-95 or US1, turn left on SR528. This will turn into A1A at Cape Canaveral. Continue South on A1A to Cocoa Beach. Go past Minuteman Cswy. and City Hall. Turn right on South 5th St. for one block, then turn left on Brevard for 100 yards. Turn right on Ramp Rd. for about 2 blocks to the city park at the end. Find the only catamaran tour boat.

Gator. Photo by Ray Scory

Note: Dress warmly.
This trip on the tour boat, “Wildside”, will provide an introduction to the “Thousand Island” nature preserve which is an excellent example of the mangrove ecosystem. We will also cruise residential canals and the open Banana River around the Brady Island rookery. These areas are accessibly only by boat and this stable catamaran will provide a great opportunity for photographs. Capt. Ben is a retired science teacher and Bio- geographer. He will talk about the natural history of this “most bio-diverse area in North America”. The ever changing dynamics of native species and those introduced by man, will be pointed out. Ben’s expertise is plants and ecology, but the co-leaders are birders. On a slow day, the 13-15 mile cruise will encounter the 20-30 bird species common to this brackish water, as well as bottlenose dolphin. A good January day, with lots of migratory species, could produce twice that many and a few more mammals and reptiles. We will provide free soft drinks and cold water and the sunshade and restroom will add to the comfort of your trip.

Kayak Trips

Fox Lake & South Lake
Jan. 21, 23, & 25, 8:30am-12:00pm; With boat rental $25/person; Bring your own boat $15/person
Space Coast Kayaking      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leader: Jim Durocher, cell (321) 784- 2452, (321) 243-0279
Directions: From the intersection of SR50 and SR405 (by the Walmart) in Titusville, take SR405 (South St.) north approximately 2 ½ miles to Fox Lake Rd. Turn left and go west two miles to the park. Follow the road along the lakeshore until you see the kayaks. From the intersection of US1 and Garden St., go west on Garden St. approx 3 miles to the four-way stop. Turn left on Carpenter Rd. and follow it to the end. Turn right on Fox Lake Rd.
www.spacecoastkayaking.net
info@spacecoastkayaking.net
Two beautiful freshwater lakes joined by a canal are frequented by some highly sought after birds, including Limpkin, Purple Gallinule, Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Bald Eagle. A variety of wading birds, waterfowl and raptors are expected.
Haulover Canal & Mullethead Island
Jan. 23 & 25, 8:30am-11:30am; With boat rental $28/person; Bring your own boat $15/person
A Day Away Kayak Tours (321) 268-2655      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leader: Mike Mahan

Reddish Egret. Photo by Joanne Williams

Reddish Egret. Photo by Joanne Williams

Directions: Cross the Titusville Bridge and head toward Black Point Wildlife Dr. Go past the Drive to the stop sign at SR3. Turn left and go 4.5 miles, crossing over the Canal. Take the first left at the bottom of the bridge, across from the Manatee Viewing Platform sign. Follow the road around, turning right and passing through a gate. Go all the way to the end.
Note: To schedule your trip online: https://
www.adventurecentral.com/user/web/wfDetails.aspx?CLUID=1e5fa7aa-4fe5-4e70-9d43-b907c5314584&AID=10521&Preview=true
info@adayawaykayaktours.com
www.adayawaykayaktours.com
The best location on MINWR from which to view dolphins and manatees (in warmer weather), Haulover Canal is a passageway between the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Just to the west lies one of the state's most significant colonial waterbird nesting islands. Mullethead Island and its surrounding grass flats provide an opportunity to view a variety of birds from the water’s level. Sandbars near the island provide loafing spots for large numbers of shorebirds, pelicans, gulls and terns.
Mosquito Lagoon from Riverbreeze Park
Jan. 22 & 25, 7:30am-12:00pm; With boat rental; $30/person; Bring your own boat; $18/person
Village Outfitters (321) 633-7245      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leader: Peter Houston
Directions: Go north on US1 2 miles past the yellow caution light in Oak Hill. Look for a brown sign identifying the park. Turn right on H. H. Burch Rd. and go east to the park entrance on the left. Please arrive at 7:15; tour leaves on time at 7:30.
Note: This trip is for intermediate and advanced kayakers.
www.villageoutfitters.com
villageoutfitter@bellsouth.net
This spectacular area of Mosquito Lagoon is characterized by a maze of waterways filled with dozens of mangrove islands. A wide variety of wading birds, shorebirds, gulls and terns are possible. Dolphins and manatees (in warmer weather) are sometimes seen in the deeper waters of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Pelican Island
Jan. 22 & 25, 10:00am-1:30pm; With boat rental $25/person; Bring your own boat $15/person
Kayaks, Etc. (772) 794-9900      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leaders: Kristen & Mike Beck, Certified Florida Master Naturalists
Directions: Launch from Jungle Trail off A1A just past the Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge Viewing Area. Turn off A1A just north of Windsor and south of the inlet bridge. Drive south a half mile on Jungle Trail past the turn off for the viewing tower.
www.kayaksetc.com
info@kayaksetc.com
The spectacular sight of American White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Anhingas and Cormorants surrounding America's first national wildlife refuge is the culmination of a pleasant paddle through mangrove-lined waterways graced with numerous wading birds.
Pine Island Conservation Area
Jan. 23, 8:00am-1:00pm; With boat rental $30/person; Bring your own boat $18/person
Village Outfitters (321) 633-7245      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leader: Joshua Deel
Directions: Head south on US1 to SR405. Take SR405 east (towards KSC Visitor Complex) to Space Commerce Way (one red light before you reach the visitor center). Turn right and go to SR3 (Courtenay Pkwy). Turn right on SR3 and go to Pine Island Rd., approximately 2 1/2 miles on the right. Turn right and go to the end.
Note: Close-toed shoes are recommended. Please bring plenty of water.
www.villageoutfitters.com
villageoutfitter@bellsouth.net
Set aside as a buffer zone for the Indian River Lagoon, Pine Island provides a 879-acre tract of mixed ecosystems ranging from pine flatwoods to mangrove swamp to saltwater marsh. Wading birds and marine mammals are common in or about the Indian River while raptors frequent the uplands areas. Part of this tour will involve a short walk to the interior of the hammock.
Thousand Islands
Jan. 21, 22, 23, 24, & 25, 7:30am-11:00am; With boat rental $25/ person; Bring your own boat $15/person
Adventure Kayak of Cocoa Beach (321) 453-6952, cell (321) 480-8632
Trip Leader: Bill Kowalik      Register directly with this business.
Directions: Launch from the end of Ramp Rd. in Cocoa Beach. From the intersection of SR520 and Hwy. A1A, go south on A1A for several miles. Just past the Minuteman Cwy., turn right on 5th St. South. Go one block west to North Brevard Ave. and turn left. Take the first right on Ramp Rd. and go to the park.
info@kayakcocoabeach.com
www.kayakcocoabeach.com
Rich in both tropical and temperate plant species, these islands provide protection from the wind for paddlers, making this a choice destination on days when it is too windy to paddle the open waters of the lagoon. The canals between the islands provide shelter for manatees (in warmer weather) and dolphins and a wide variety of wading birds.
Turkey Creek
Jan. 23 & 26, 9:00am-12:30pm; With boat rental $25/person; Bring your own boat $15/person
Kayaks, Etc. (772) 794-9900      Register directly with this business.
Trip Leaders: Kristen & Mike Beck, Certified Florida Master Naturalists
Directions: Launch from Alex Goode Park in Port Malabar. From the intersection of US1 and US192 in Melbourne, go south on US1 for about 5.5 miles to Port Malabar Blvd. Turn right and go over the railroad tracks to Bianca Dr. Turn right on Bianca Dr. and follow it to the park.
www.kayaksetc.com
info@kayaksetc.com
This trip offers the best possibility for sighting manatees in January. A wide variety of habitats highlight your journey from the wide open waters of a saltwater estuary to a sheltered narrow winding blackwater creek lined with lush hydric hammock. Precipitous, high sandy bluffs are encountered at the upper reaches of the creek.

kayaks!

free tryouts &
demonstrations

Sponsored by
A Day Away Kayak Tours
(321) 268-2655
Mike and Elizabeth Mahan
www.adayawaykayaktours.com
and
Extreme Sports Kayaking
(321) 779-4228
Cheryl and Dave Spencer
www.extremesportskayaking.com

Never tried kayaking?
No problem!

Don’t miss this chance to develop your paddling skills in a controlled environment. Join the growing number of people who choose kayaks as a way to enjoy the unique treasures that make Florida such a beautiful place to enjoy nature and the outdoors. Once you master the art of using a low profile kayak, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to get REALLY close to wildlife and enjoy stunning scenery that seemed inaccessible before. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to ask questions of experts and get into a kayak and try it out!

Saturday, Jan. 24
10:00am-2:00pm
Chain of Lakes

Directions: From Brevard Community College, go north on US1 approx 3/4 of a mile. Turn right on Jay Jay Rd. Go about 1/2 mile and turn right into the park, just west of the soccer fields. Follow the road around and go past the softball fields on the right. Outfitters will be set up on the lakeshore directly behind Brevard Community College.

Kayaking with dolphin on the Haulover Canal

Kayaking with dolphin - Haulover Canal

Kayaking at Merritt Island N.W.R.

Kayaks launching at Fox Lake.

Canoeing around Shipyard Island.

Rookery Island (Mullet Head) near Haulover Canal
Mullethead (Rookery) Island

Pelican Island

Space Coast Paddlers