Spring has Sprung at Gatorland!
It’s Springtime at Gatorland as the chicks are really coming out all over the Rookery. It’s the time a lot of you have been waiting for… so don’t delay too long as it doesn’t take these babies very long to grow! Right now we have the following species with babies:
Snowy Egret (pictured above and below)
Great Egret (pictured below)
Tricolored Heron (pictured below)
Anhinga (pictured below)
And of course, we have everybody’s new favorite, our Baby Barred Owl!
The baby Barred Owl has been spending it’s days close to it’s nesting area, the past few days he has been sitting atop the south fence of the deer enclosure next to the Wrestling Stadium. At this point he has been out of the nest for about a week and a half, and does have some flight capability, although he is much better at climbing than flying. Baby Owls at this point in fledging are called “Branchers”, and they use their beak and talons to climb the trees and branches. Apart from an occasional foray into a show area, he has remained fairly close to the original nest, and will climb to the top of it at dusk. The parents may not always be seen, but at least one is never far away, and they do bring baby a snack such as the wading bird leg below. I have no idea what bird that leg belongs to, but my closest guess would be either a Moorhen or a Tricolored Heron. This is the second time the parents have brought in a bird leg to feed baby, they are definitely preying upon other birds in the Rookery. That must be why the baby Owl spends his days looking at the Turkeys in the Deer enclosure!
The Cattle Egrets are still coming in, and many are in great color. They have been filling in the north west section of the Rookery, and can be seen frequently flying over from the East bank with nesting material.
If you want to grab some great flight shots just postion yourself north of the northern rain hut and watch the action like in the photo below.
The Spoonbills are still active in the Rookery, and we do have one pair standing in a nest. Nope, she’s not sitting yet, but I do expect to have her on eggs within a week. We also have another pair of younger Spoonies that have been working on another nest just across from the first one, we may end up having two pair of Spoonbills nesting this year! In the meantime, there are plenty of opportunities to catch these beautiful birds moving around the Rookery.
