The largest of the Heron species found in Florida, the Great Blue Heron can reach a height of over 4 feet with a 72 inch wingspan. This large wading bird is found throughout North America, and can be easily recognized by its dark blue-grey plumage with black shoulder patch, long legs and neck, short tail, and long tapered yellow and grey bill. The face and crown are white, with a distinctive dark patch forming just above each eye and extending to the back of the head. During the breeding season two long, black plumes will form from this area, along with a rather “shaggy” appearance to the lower neck and chest area. In southern Florida there is also an all-white form known locally as the Great White Heron.

The Great Blue Heron is an excellent fisherman, and will wait motionless in the water waiting for a fish to come within range. Found in both fresh and brackish wetland areas, as well as the coast, these large birds prey upon fish, amphibians, small reptiles such as baby alligators, and even small birds. At Gatorland, the Great Blue can frequently be seen around the Observation Tower foraging for food.

Boat-tailed Grackles are large blackbirds with yellow to brown eyes, long, sharp black bills, and long tails. Although they may appear to be all black, in good light the Grackle displays an almost metallic sheen, the color of which varies from an iridescent purple to green. Females are brown, with a lighter cinnamon color to its head and chest. Grackles are the most common birds at Gatorland, and can be found throughout Florida as well as the Gulf and Atlantic coast regions of the United States. The Boat-tailed Grackle inhabits a wide variety of areas such as coastal salt marshes and barrier islands, ponds, streams, farmland, towns and cities.

Grackles eat small fish, frogs, snails, insects, shrimp, small bird, eggs and the unprotected nestlings of other birds, small reptiles, fruit, berries, grain, and seeds, as well as food scavenged from humans.

Depending on their habitat, Boat-tailed Grackles will build their nest with dried stalks, grasses, and cattails in marshy areas, and with leaves, moss, feathers, mud, and bits of debris when nesting in trees and bushes. Grackles lay 3 – 5 eggs which are incubated by the female and hatch within 15 days.

Throughout most of the year, you can spy many Double Crested Cormorants sitting on their nests high in the Cypress trees in Gatorland’s Breeding Marsh and South Alligator Island. A solidly built, long necked, black bird with orange throat pouch and black webbed feet, the Double Crested Cormorant gets its name from a short tuft of feathers that form over each eye during the breeding season. Like the Anhinga, the Cormorant is a diving bird, catching fish or crustaceans underwater in its long curved bill, and then surfacing to flip the food into its mouth swallowing it whole.

As with the Anhinga, Double Crested Cormorants don’t have well-developed oil glands, and aren’t waterproofed very well, enabling the bird to dive farther and stay underwater longer. They often dry their feathers by perching on a pole or tree limb and stretching their wings out in the sunshine. Japanese fisherman use the Cormorant to catch fish by tying a line to its leg and placing a collar around its neck to prevent the bird from swallowing the fish. After the last catch is made, the fishermen remove the collar, allowing the bird to feed on its own.

The Cattle Egret is a relative newcomer, only arriving in Florida in the early 1940’s. A native of Africa, the Cattle Egret is believed to have flown from that continent to South America in the mid 1800’s, eventually migrating northward all the way to Alaska. The most terrestrial of all the herons, Cattle Egrets feed primarily on insects, and can frequently be seen following cattle and farm machinery while feeding on the insects stirred up by their movement.

The Cattle Egret is a small, all white bird with an orange to yellow bill and legs. During the breeding season a buff coloration appears on the crown, back, and chest, with the bill and legs turning a vivid red. A prolific nester, they will build in any place that can support a nest, and prefer large colonies mixed with other wading birds. At Gatorland, the Cattle Egret can be found nesting throughout the entire Breeding Marsh area, with March through July being the most active months. The clutch size is usually 3-4 eggs, with the young becoming fully independent after 45-50 days.

Gatorland is the year-round home to a large colony of Black Vultures; they can be seen throughout the park perched in the tops of trees, fence posts, and roofs, as well as soaring high in the sky over the surrounding area. The Black Vulture is a big, heavy-bodied, black bird, with a large wingspan and bald head, commonly referred to in Florida as a “Buzzard”. These birds are nature’s garbage disposal, feeding primarily on dead animals, although they have been known to prey on weak or injured small mammals, as well as unprotected baby birds. Originally classified as a Bird of Prey, recent studies and DNA testing have led to the Black Vulture being re-classified as a member of the Stork family.

Vultures are especially adapted to eating carrion, with extremely powerful stomach acids that allow it to eat even rotting or diseased flesh. The bird’s bald head enables it to stick its head into the carcass without getting its feathers “dirty”.

Unlike other birds that nest in the trees and bushes, Black Vultures lay their eggs on the ground, as well as in hollow logs, caves, or rocky ledges.

A common sight around most bodies of water in Florida, the Anhinga is a diving bird that spears its fish underwater and then surfaces to flip the prey into its mouth before swallowing it down. Unlike most waterfowl, the Anhinga does not have the oil glands used in “waterproofing” its feathers. This lack of oil allows the bird to dive farther and stay underwater longer in search of food. However, it’s hard for birds to fly with wet feathers, so the Anhinga can often be seen with its wings outstretched, drying its wet feathers in the sun.

Gatorland is home to a large number of Anhinga, and they can frequently be seen diving into the lake with the alligators to catch fish. They are a rather stocky, medium sized bird with a long slender neck, sharp pointed beak, and webbed feet. Body color is black, with a white to silver “turkey” type pattern to its wings and rather long tail. Because of this, the Anhinga is sometimes referred to as a “Water Turkey” or “Snake Bird”, the latter due to its long neck resembling a snake in the water. Males have an almost all black neck and chest, while females have a buff to brown coloration.

Welcome to Gatorland’s Rookery Blog pages, here you’ll find updated information on the best kept secret in Central Florida… Gatorland’s Rookery! Created in 1991 as a natural habitat for Gatorland’s alligator breeding population, this 10 acre Breeding Marsh soon became home to many different species of wild Florida birds which roost and nest above the protecting alligators. Today, the Gatorland Rookery has transformed into one of the largest and most accessible wading bird rookeries in Florida with literally thousands of native Florida birds making their home in this natural habitat. Currently, a dozen different species of birds nest within Gatorland’s Rookery, and over 20 different species of birds utilize the area for roosting or feeding. Of these, 8 species are listed either as a Species of Special Concern or Endangered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

We invite all of you to come and experience nature at its best during our Birding Season, which runs from January through August with the nesting birds, and year-round with the nightly fly-in of roosting birds. This year we are offering an enhanced “Dawn to Dusk” birding program that will allow entry into the Rookery at 7:30 am and the ability to stay past closing time until dusk. This new program will run Tuesday through Saturday March 11 - July 19, 2008, and will be included in the Gatorland Photo Pass for $99.99.

Single Day ticket holders will now have the option to stay until dusk for an additional $10 with no early entry.

Annual Passholders will also have the option to stay until dusk for only $5 (per visit) with no early entry.

We will also be adding a new after-hours guided Rookery Tour featuring the nightly “Fly In” of the thousands of birds that roost within our Breeding Marsh and Bird Sanctuary. This tour begins March 1, 2008 and will retail for just $15.99.

Be sure to check back often for updated information and photos on the current status of the Gatorland Rookery… 2008 promises to be an exciting Birding Season at Gatorland!