February 29, 2008 Rookery Update
Welcome to Gatorland’s Rookery Update Blog! We’ll be updating this area often to give you the most current conditions within the Gatorland Breeding Marsh & Bird Sanctuary. Don’t forget… you can also log on to our webcam for a live look at the activity in the Rookery!
Walking around the Rookery on this Leap Day, I counted 63 Great Egret nests, with one of the nests having several chicks that hatched almost a week ago. Most of the Great Egret nests are concentrated within the north cove area and all along the east bank. The nest with chicks (viewable as a pre-set on our Gator Cam) is located on the east bank directly across from the northern gazebo. There are many nests located very close to the boardwalk, so you won’t need a fancy camera or lens to get a good picture.
The Wood Storks have produced seven nests so far, with a few more pairs likely to nest soon. All of the Wood Stork nests are along the east bank of the Rookery and easily viewable directly across from the northern gazebo.
The Double Crested Cormorant chicks are all close to fledging, with some nests already abandoned and occupied by Anhingas. The picture above was taken from the top level of the Observation Tower where two active Cormorant nests are located in a Cypress tree on the north side. The Anhingas have started nesting with over nine nests completed so far, most are located across from the North Gazebo on the eastern bank. Many of the Anhingas are in breeding colors as you can see in the picture below:
The Snowy Egrets have begun nesting, and their numbers are beginning to increase. Today’s count was around 25 adults and 6 nests, with more birds arriving every day. The Tricolored Herons and Little Blue Herons have not begun nesting, but are appearing in ever increasing numbers during the nightly fly-in. A few Cattle Egret have been hanging around the Cove area next to the North Gazebo, and may be staring to nest within the next few days. Quite a few of the Cattle Egret have breeding coloration, and are also appearing in ever increasing numbers during the nightly fly-in.
There were four or five Black Crowned Night Herons spotted within the Rookery today, as well as some Osprey fishing for Tilapia and quite a few songbirds, such as Robins, Catbirds, and Red Bellied Woodpeckers. I caught this little fellow eating Brazilian Pepper berries:
