Viera Wetlands is one of my favorite digiscoping and birding destinations and I always try to get down there at least one day on every trip to the Space Coast Birding Festival. It is a 30 minute drive straight down 95 from where I stay in Titusville. I got a late start yesterday, due to a long day of travel from Las Vegas on Saturday, but decided, given the busy schedule of the coming week, to do Viera anyway. Viera is now, officially, the Rich Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera. You may remember from posts from last year at this time that it is a “improved” waste water treatment plant…one of a growing number where the settlement ponds have been converted to small lakes and marshes ideal for migrant and resident birds…and, in a truly enlighten move, basic facilities (portapodies, viewing platforms and towers, and several miles of good dyke roads) provided for visiting birders and the curious public. Yesterday I would estimate that while I was there, there were about 100 other visitors driving the dykes and observing the birds. While at least half were serious birders or bird photographers, at least half were the curious public variety…from young families with children to retired folks. There were even a few walking the dykes, jogging, or bicycling. Viera is wonder, and I, for one, and sincerely thankful to the foresight of the folks who conceived of and funded its conversion.

This Osprey, who was busy with a meal, was the first bird to great me from the dyke (or at least the first I pulled out the scope for and set up).

Canon SD4000IS behind the 15-56x Vario eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for the equivalent field of view of a 3000mm lens. 1/1000 sec. @ ISO 160. Programmed Auto. Effective aperture of f8.5 (computed).

Processed very lightly in Lightroom for clarity and sharpness.

And here is a second shot, this time at something closer to 4500mm equivalent field of view.