As March begins, the action within the Rookery begins to intensify with the arrival of the Cattle Egrets and Tricolored Herons which have just begun nest building. As you can see in the picture above, the Cattle Egrets have started their breeding coloration and are busy collecting nesting material.

The Anhingas are really into nesting gear now, and have actually taken over one new Wood Stork nest and several Cormorant nests as well. The Snowy Egrets are now in full swing with over 10 nests sitting and many more under construction. Their gurgling courting sounds can be heard everywhere!

Today’s Rookery count showed 70 Great Egret nests, many of which are just starting to hatch chicks. The Wood Storks also have a nest with babies located directly across from post E22. While I haven’t seen them yet, I can definitely hear them! There has also been a report of a Limpkin that may be starting to nest on the south end of the Marsh, just north of the South Gazebo. I did not see the bird, or a completed nest, but there does appear to have been some activity at the site, so we’ll keep our eyes open!

Our new “Dawn to Dusk” Photo Pass will be available beginning Saturday March 8, 2008 and can be purchased online or at the gate. For those interested in a “sneak peek” of the Rookery at dusk, come on over to Gatorland on Saturday March 8, 2008 at 4:00 pm. I’ll be giving a guided tour for those that would like one, and we’ll be staying until dusk for the nightly fly-in. Admission is only $10, and you can apply that towards the purchase of the new Photo Pass or Annual Pass.

See You There!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm and is filed under Rookery Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.