Just ahead, partially obscured by roadside vegetation, I saw this bird’s head pointing skyward, brown, with a few white stripe markings, including one across its eye, an American bittern. I had never photographed one before. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one. He was right next to the berm, motionless, but I realized if I drove any closer it would scare him and he wouldn’t be able to get out of the car. That would surely ruin my luck. He had to take a shot now. Unfortunately, with the angle I was at, I was going to have the passenger side rear view mirror or windshield frame in the shot. I took a chance and slowly moved the car forward until I could shoot between the two of us. I was lucky. He held his position long enough for a clear shot. At the sound of the shutter, it slid slowly and silently through the shore brush toward the reeds near the shore. He then found what he felt was a safe hiding place and froze, giving me one more shot of his head. These birds are quite common but are rarely seen as they are known to be very secretive and blend in well with their habitats. They hear each other more frequently and have a call that has been described as a “stuffed bomb”. They belong to the heron family and are usually most active at dusk. I had already photographed black moorhens, great blue herons, little blue herons, double-crested cormorants, speckled ducks, coots, and an alligator, and this was a slow day.
What was unusual was that I wasn’t in a distant swamp along Florida’s St. Johns River in my kayak. It was all over the place, at a sewage treatment plant, specifically the City of Titusville’s Blue Heron Water Reclamation Facility.
The City of Titusville, by creating the Blue Heron Wastewater Treatment Facility, including 300-acre designed wetlands, has also created a hotspot for bird watching and wildlife photography. The wetland is divided into seven cells: one pond cell, three deep marsh cells, and three shallow marsh cells, and the water levels in each cell are managed to provide optimal conditions for the target vegetation types to treat the waters. residues through biological processes. The cells are separated by berms while a perimeter berm surrounds the entire wetland. The perimeter berm can be driven, cycled, or walked counterclockwise, while the inner berms separating individual cells can be walked on. By virtue of several cells that are home to different plant communities that attract different species of wildlife, this area attracts a great diversity of bird species, providing a great opportunity for bird watchers to add to their “Life Lists”, while photographers can add additional species to their portfolios. The ability to shoot from a vehicle is also a big plus, as vehicles make great photographic curtains. Be sure to stop by the office and sign out on your way out, while a log book is also available for visitors to record unique sightings. Over 100 species have been recorded here and the wetlands are listed as a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail. The greatest diversities of bird species will occur during the fall and spring migrations and many species will spend the entire winter here. However, even though diversity decreases during the warmer months, residents here, including sandhill cranes, many species of herons and egrets, and others, use these wetlands to breed and raise their young, providing excellent opportunities for take photos. For birders visiting the Central Florida area, these wetlands are a must-see. Alligators, otters and even the occasional deer.
When to go: The Gates to the Blue heron Wetlands opens at 7:00 am and closes at 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday. They don’t leave the doors open on weekends as there is usually only one employee on site but you can still visit.
To visit the wetlands on a weekend, call 321-383-5642 the Friday before and let them know what you’d like to arrive at. The assistant will make sure to open the door shortly before the scheduled time. Carry the old phone number with you in case you are late to let them know. They will reschedule your time. All visitors are asked to sign in at the office upon arrival and leave when leaving. They also have a book for you to record any unusual sightings.
The Blue Heron Water Reclamation Facility is located at 4800 Deep Marsh Road on the south side of Highway 50, approximately one-half mile west of I-95 in Titusville. If you are driving from the east, you will need to make a u-turn at the Great Outdoors entrance on Highway 50 (Plantation Drive). The entrance to the wetlands will be next on the right almost immediately after the U-turn.
