As January comes to a close, the Great Egret nesting and courtship increases within the Rookery. At last count we have 25 Great Egret nests under construction, as well as fairly constant courtship displays throughout the Rookery. A few other species are also active within the Rookery, such as Woodstorks, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons. Anhinga, Comorants, Night Herons, Osprey, Spoonbills, Ibis, and Limpkin. None of the other species have started courtship, but can be observed feeding or roosting throughout the Rookery. The Limpkin activity has been fairly constant and they can frequently be found fishing for freshwater mollusks around the Observation Tower.

Songbird activity is also picking up along the south and north ends of the Rookery, especially amongst the Brazilian Pepper as they feast upon the plentiful berries. While Gatorland’s Birding Season is just getting underway, there is still plenty to see throughout the day. The late afternoon hours bring in the roosting birds by the hundreds, as they arrive for the safety of their “alligator protected” perches.

The 2010 Gatorland Birding Season is off to a great start, and to celebrate the New Year we figured we would help everyone where it matters the most… in the pocketbook! This year we will be offering a Senior Discount (age 55+) on our Annual Photo Pass as well as introducing a new Rookery Annual Pass, also with a Senior Discount. The new Rookery Pass is an annual pass that allows for a “pay as you go” access to to the Rookery during extended hours, for a nominal upcharge of $5 per visit (early or late). Unlimited access to the Rookery during our “Dawn to Dusk” extended hours program is available with no upcharge through our Annual Photo Pass.

Gatorland Annual Photo Pass $99.99 (unlimited early or late access*)
NEW Senior Rate $79.99

Gatorland Rookery Pass $49.99 ($5 upcharge for early or late access*)
NEW Senior Rate $39.99

(Monday - Tuesday) 9:00am - 5:00pm (NO extended hours)

Mike Godwin
Gatorland

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 1:23 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.