Range Tracking

The Tired Turnstone

2016/09/20 by terranovabay

The energetic life of a Ruddy Turnstone at Sebastian Inlet State Park makes for a full day of activities. Even when there are no stones to turn over the day still has to be spent poking around for food as best as one can, including searching through the seaweed. Sometimes, late in the day, there is time for a brief respite. When taking a nap seems entirely appropriate. Until the Sanderlings come along ignoring the sleepyhead on the beach. Taking […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: Arenaria interpres, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Sebastian Inlet State Park, shorebird

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Mullet Run

2016/09/18 by terranovabay

The mullet are running at Sebastian Inlet State Park, which means for non-fishermen like me this certain fish is swimming in big schools along the shore making for a movable feast for the Brown Pelicans. The jetty at Sebastian Inlet is crowded with fisherfolk hoping the little mullet will draw in bigger fish to prey on them and, possibly, get hooked. The mullet are readily visible moving just below the surface of the water – or flying out of it […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: Brown Pelican, fish, fishermen, mullet, Pelicanus occidentulis, Sebastian Inlet State Park

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OSIRIS-REx launches to Asteroid Bennu

2016/09/11 by terranovabay

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 configuration rocket launched the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission for NASA at 7:05 p.m. on 8 September 2016 from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will rendezvous with the Asteroid Bennu, study it for two years from orbit, before descending down to the surface to collect samples that will be returned to Earth for analysis. Click to view the OSIRIS-REx launch […]

Categories: Rocket Launch • Tags: Asteroid, Atlas V, Bennu, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Origins, OSIRIS-REx, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, SLC 41, Space Launch Complex 41, Spectral Interpretation, United Launch Alliance

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PINWR Helicopter Ops

2016/09/01 by terranovabay

Back when I was a volunteer at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR) I was fortunate to be invited to watch the expansion of Pelican Island via use of a helicopter flying bucket loads of dirt out to the island. Pelican Island has always been small, roughly 5.5 acres when it first became a bird sanctuary back in 1903. And after years of erosion, most likely caused by a hundred years of boat wakes gnawing at the shoreline, the island […]

Categories: Scenery • Tags: helicopter, Indian River County, Indian River Lagoon, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, PINWR

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Ospreys of Pelican Island

2016/08/31 by terranovabay

One of my current projects is to bring the Ospreys of Pelican Island: An exploration into the life of the Fish Hawk program up-to-date by giving it a whole new slide show and reformatting the way the material is presented. It’s a bit of an chore but the final outcome should be worth the effort and will definitely breath new life into the presentation. I am currently taking bookings if anyone is interested in having me present the new and […]

Categories: Dog's Tail • Tags: Fish Hawk, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, PINWR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS

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Industrial landscape past and future

2016/08/22 by terranovabay

Giant cargo cranes along the waterfront at Port Canaveral look like they are paying homage to the future represented by the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster at right used to launch JCSAT-16. After successfully throwing its second stage topped with the satellite into orbit, the first stage booster powered down to a pinpoint landing on a barge located several hundred miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, which eventually made its way back to Port a few days later with its precious […]

Categories: Rocket Launch • Tags: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, droneship, Falcon 9, Japan, JCSAT-16, Of Course I Still Love You, Port Canaveral, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Space Launch Complex 40, SpaceX

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Monitoring Space Objects of Interest

2016/08/19 by terranovabay

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket Medium+ (4.2) configured with two solid rocket boosters attached to the common booster core launches two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites into orbit on 19 August 2016 at 12:52 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) will use these two satellites plus two more already in orbit to monitor the activities of other “man-made orbiting objects”. Click to view […]

Categories: Rocket Launch • Tags: AFSPC-6, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Delta IV, Florida, Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, GSSAP, satellite, Sebastian Inlet State Park, U.S. Air Force Space Command, United Launch Alliance

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Another Sky Perfect Launch

2016/08/14 by terranovabay

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched JCSAT-16, a commercial telecommunications satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, at 1:26 a.m. on 14 August 2016 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Following stage separation, the first stage of Falcon 9 successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship positioned several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation is a leading satellite operator providing high-quality satellite communications in the Asia-Pacific region. […]

Categories: Rocket Launch • Tags: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, droneship, Falcon 9, Japan, JCSAT-16, Sebastian Inlet State Park, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Space Launch Complex 40, SpaceX

Electric Blue Feathers

2016/08/08 by terranovabay

More rescued photos from a few winters ago. This time of Indigo Buntings in the backyard. These photos feature the now rotted away purple log cabin bird feeder with the green roof. A classic that the birds seemed to enjoy visiting. Handy identification tip: Blue Indigo Buntings are males while the brown ones are females. Patchy blue and brown are juveniles. A Painted Bunting posing next to an invasive air potato hanging off the vine. An Indigo Bunting perched atop […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: backyard, Florida, Indian River County, Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea

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Wintering Painted Buntings

2016/08/04 by terranovabay

Rescued photos of Painted Buntings in the backyard from a few years ago. Just a reminder that the green ones are most likely adult females though the juveniles of both sexes have similar, if duller, plumage. And, of course, the adult males are covered in brilliant colors of different hues. Passerina ciris is considered a medium-sized Finch.

Categories: Nature • Tags: backyard, Finch, Florida, Indian River County, Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris

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