Return of the Swallow-tailed Kites
News Flash from the Rookery… it looks like the Swallow-tailed Kites are back, as the first one of the 2009 season was spotted Wednesday, March 18 flying along the eastern side of the Rookery towards the South Cypress Swamp. Last year we had a pair of these kites that I believe had a nest in the South Swamp, and they would fly around and above the Rookery, normally too far away for me to get a really good picture. For the photographers… you’ll need at least a 400mm to get a good shot, and bigger is better in this case. The Kite seen Wednesday was alone, and flew around the Jungle Crocs area of the East Rookery for about 15 minutes before heading back to the South Swamp. While my 70-200mm lens can handle most of the Rookery, it doesn’t quite have the reach for the Kites… but here’s a shot of the Swallow-tailed Kite from Wednesday:
The Tricolored Herons arrived last week, and are slowly beginning to take over the Rookery. Many are making nests along the boardwalk south of the Observation Tower, including several around the South Gazebo. Several nests already have eggs, so we should have Tricolored chicks in about 3 weeks. You can expect lots of stick gathering and courtship activity for the next several weeks.
The Little Blue Herons have also started to arrive and have just begun nest building, with a few pair around the South Gazebo. The Limpkin female has finally had her mate show up, and they have been spending more time in their nest from last year. They arrive early in the morning, and you can definitely hear them when they approach… there’s no sound quite like the Limpkins! The Snowy Egrets are still courting and nest building, but the action for them has slowed down with many already nesting. The Great Egrets are also still courting and nest building, and new chicks are being born. Almost all of the original nests with Great Egret chicks are now gone or replaced, including the first Egret nest hatchling of 2009. Exactly what has happened to them is still a mystery, and while there has been one report of a Great Blue Heron taking a chick this year, I find it hard to believe they have eaten them all! The oldest Egret chick in the Rookery disappeared on Wednesday, March 18 sometime in the afternoon. I took the picture below of the nest Wednesday morning, but by the evening time the nest looked to be inhabited with a new pair of Egrets, as they were doing a good bit of courting.
As you can see, this was no small chick, and the parents were very attentive, so whether he was eaten by something or perhaps pushed out of the nest by invading Egrets we may never know… but something has been happening to a few more nests than usual this year. Nature can be definitely unpredictable, and unusual things occur sometimes when you least expect it. A good example are the White Ibis, we had been having hundreds roost within the Rookery, although on Saturday evening the numbers dropped considerably. During the Backyard Bird Count in February, I counted 730 White Ibis in the park, not including all of the birds arriving past 6:00pm. On March 14, we had less than a hundred or so show up… which just happened to be the same day we had a special tour for Orange Audubon members. It’s not unusual for the Ibis numbers to decline this time of year, as they begin moving to their nesting areas (they have never nested within the Rookery), but it is interesting how they just seem to stop coming in to roost all at once.
The Wood Storks have also been acting a bit strange this year, with their numbers down substantially from the same period last year. In January, I counted over 20 Wood Storks in the Rookery, and they were acting like they were scoping out nesting areas. However, for the past month only a half dozen or so Woodies have been in the Rookery, including this young Wood Stork hanging out in an old nest area from last year. Not quite sure where they went… but hopefully they’ll return and start nesting soon. At this point, we have no active Wood Stork nests within the Rookery.
One of the Barred Owls came out late Wednesday afternoon in good light, sitting up in a favorite Pine tree. They can usually be found just before dusk, hanging out around the Emu enclosure at the far South end of the park. The Owls spend the daylight hours inside of a dead Palm behind the Wrestling Stadium.
Despite some rather unusual things so far, the Rookery is active with lots of birds of different species nesting. There are still nests with Great Egret chicks, and within the next few weeks we’ll have Anhinga, Snowy and Tricolored babies. The Cattle Egrets should also be arriving shortly, as I’ve noticed roosting numbers are beginning to increase. I haven’t seen any with really good color yet, but it shouldn’t be too much longer before they become vibrant.