Reports of the Limpkin visiting the Rookery were confirmed this evening, as the photo above shows. Actually, there was not one… but two Limpkins within the Rookery, and while we cannot confirm an actual nest at this time, their activity and presence within the Breeding Marsh suggest that it might be a possibility. We have never had a Limpkin nest within the Rookery, although we have had them visit on occasion. In 2007 we had our very first Roseatte Spoonbill nest, so hopefully 2008 will bring another “first” with the Limpkins.

Speaking of Spoonbills, tonight we had some additional pink visitors to the Rookery with an adult and another juvenile Spoonbill arriving this evening. None of the birds were banded, which means the adult was either the male from last year, or perhaps a new bird (the female Spoonbill last year was banded). At this time, we now have four Roseatte Spoonbills within the Rookery, with the best viewing time in the late afternoon. There was some courtship display from the adult Spoonbill, and one of the juveniles was continuing to play with sticks and branches as you can see from the picture below.

I was able to see one of the Wood Stork chicks tonight, but the nest is too deep and the chicks too small to get a picture, it might be another week before they will be big enough to photograph. The Tricolored Herons are very active now, it’s almost like someone turned a switch on, with courtship and nesting taking place throughout the Rookery, including the South section. The Cattle Egrets are also actively nesting as are the Snowy Egrets and Anhingas. Still no sign of any Great Blue or Little Blue Heron nesting behavior, although the Little Blue’s numbers have been increasing during the nightly fly-in.

Don’t forget, 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.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 12:56 am 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.