I haven’t given an update on activity within the Rookery for a few days, so let’s get caught up on the action. The Limpkins are not fully nested yet, although I have seen them working on and sitting in the nest, they do not occupy it consistently yet. They are active within the Rookery, and I caught the one above fishing for mollusks next to the Observation Tower.

We also have a new visitor to the Rookery, a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. This is the first time I have ever seen one at Gatorland… hopefully it will bring some friends! It has been seen at the South end of the Breeding Marsh around the South Gazebo.

This morning the Spoonbills decided to return, and I counted a total of 8 birds consisting of 4 adults and 4 juveniles. Two adults arrived together, and one of them was banded, which leads me to believe they are the breeding pair that nested last year. A Wood Stork is now occupying the site of their previous nest, I hope they choose a nice location for their new one!

One of the other adult Spoonbills spent all day in the Rookery hidden from site in the thick foliage. It may very well be choosing a nesting site, I just hope it picks a better one as it was not viewable from the boardwalk.

The Great Egrets are still nest building and courting with non-stop displays throughout the Rookery. We have over 75 nests of the Great Egret this year, many with chicks. The numbers of Tricolored Herons has increased dramatically, as well as the number of Snowy and Cattle Egrets. The Cattle Egrets have some beautiful color now, as you can see from the photo below.

The Little Blue Herons numbers are also increasing, and they should be nesting almost any day now. Several pairs were spotted near and around the South Gazebo area. The Glossy Ibis are still roosting across from the North Gazebo, and while their numbers are diminishing, we still have large numbers of White Ibis arriving to roost as well. The Great Blues are not going to nest for us this year, although they are very active within the Rookery. This fellow here caught a Tilapia next to the North Gazebo.

I should also mention that the alligators have begun their courtship cycle, so for those of you that like something besides birds, be prepared for lots of gator fights, mating and courtship behaviors, and of course… bellowing!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 2008 at 9:31 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.