Fun Facts about Cocoa Beach and surrounding area!
More sun in the South!: In winter months, the sunrises at the same time in Florida and New England - but the sun sets in Florida about an hour later! For more scientific info on this, click HERE
Dawn: The best time to catch a sunrise!! Dawn is he time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. Essentially, this is the time before the sun crest the horizon. When the sunlight bounces around on the earth's atmosphere and provides what we know as "epic sunrises". (Thanks Wikipedia!)
Pelicans: While experiencing the "dawn", you will no doubt be mesmerized by these ancient birds (brown pelican's is what you will see) as they "air surf" the waves in front of our condo's. They can dive from 30 feet in the air into the water to catch a fish. When they land in the water they also scoop up about three gallons of seawater in their gular pouch, the sack of skin at the base of their throat, they will drain this water out before swallowing their fish and take off to look for more. You can learn more about Brown Pelicans and other Space Coast birds from the Space Coast Audubon. http://www.spacecoastaudubon.org/
Birding Trail: Loops around Florida with some spots close by to our condo's. I don't know that you have to visit these spots, but THIS resource could help you identify what type of birds you are seeing on our seashore.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: This is north of Kennedy Space. So if you find yourself up that way, you might want to look into this. We have no spent much time here but understand there are walking trails, etc... Click HERE to see it on Google, read reviews in order to see if it worthy of your time :-)
Turtles: First off, you should know Turtle season May 1st to October 31st. For beach-side residents, this means we shade our lights in the condo, after 9PM baby turtle hatch-lings don't get disoriented. Note: They use the moon as their beacon - and the can mistake other lights as the moon. The local authorities are serious about light infractions, so help us out and draw the blinds during turtle season at night :-) Click HERE to watch a good video on Turtles and Cocoa Beach To learn more about Sea Turtles on the Space Coast, click HERE.
Bio-luminescence: Click HERE to learn more. Suggested "BIO" tours on our "fun things to do" page.
Dolphin: If you are lucky, you will see dolphin playing - or just swimming - 20 to 100 yards off the beach. If you are really lucky, you will see one or more surf the waves into the beach. If you want to see Dolphin, for sure, the banana river is a better bet. If dining, there is a strong possibility of seeing dolphin at either of the SquidLips locations. For a tour, where you can see dolphin, visit our Fun things to do page.
Manatee: Are sometimes referred to as Sea Cows. They are docile, slow moving creatures. You won't see them in the ocean - but you will in the Banana River (closest body of water to the West).
Port Canaveral: Now, getting off the nature trivia, as of 2023 Port Canaveral is the WORLDS busiest cruise port! No kidding!! It's fun to watch the ships depart around sunset and arrive back to Port Canaveral before sunrise! Click HERE to see what boats are floating past!!!
Dawn: The best time to catch a sunrise!! Dawn is he time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. Essentially, this is the time before the sun crest the horizon. When the sunlight bounces around on the earth's atmosphere and provides what we know as "epic sunrises". (Thanks Wikipedia!)
Pelicans: While experiencing the "dawn", you will no doubt be mesmerized by these ancient birds (brown pelican's is what you will see) as they "air surf" the waves in front of our condo's. They can dive from 30 feet in the air into the water to catch a fish. When they land in the water they also scoop up about three gallons of seawater in their gular pouch, the sack of skin at the base of their throat, they will drain this water out before swallowing their fish and take off to look for more. You can learn more about Brown Pelicans and other Space Coast birds from the Space Coast Audubon. http://www.spacecoastaudubon.org/
Birding Trail: Loops around Florida with some spots close by to our condo's. I don't know that you have to visit these spots, but THIS resource could help you identify what type of birds you are seeing on our seashore.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: This is north of Kennedy Space. So if you find yourself up that way, you might want to look into this. We have no spent much time here but understand there are walking trails, etc... Click HERE to see it on Google, read reviews in order to see if it worthy of your time :-)
Turtles: First off, you should know Turtle season May 1st to October 31st. For beach-side residents, this means we shade our lights in the condo, after 9PM baby turtle hatch-lings don't get disoriented. Note: They use the moon as their beacon - and the can mistake other lights as the moon. The local authorities are serious about light infractions, so help us out and draw the blinds during turtle season at night :-) Click HERE to watch a good video on Turtles and Cocoa Beach To learn more about Sea Turtles on the Space Coast, click HERE.
Bio-luminescence: Click HERE to learn more. Suggested "BIO" tours on our "fun things to do" page.
Dolphin: If you are lucky, you will see dolphin playing - or just swimming - 20 to 100 yards off the beach. If you are really lucky, you will see one or more surf the waves into the beach. If you want to see Dolphin, for sure, the banana river is a better bet. If dining, there is a strong possibility of seeing dolphin at either of the SquidLips locations. For a tour, where you can see dolphin, visit our Fun things to do page.
Manatee: Are sometimes referred to as Sea Cows. They are docile, slow moving creatures. You won't see them in the ocean - but you will in the Banana River (closest body of water to the West).
Port Canaveral: Now, getting off the nature trivia, as of 2023 Port Canaveral is the WORLDS busiest cruise port! No kidding!! It's fun to watch the ships depart around sunset and arrive back to Port Canaveral before sunrise! Click HERE to see what boats are floating past!!!