Gatorland Rookery Update - February 2010
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Gatorland's "Dawn to Dusk" extended hours program is now underway with the Rookery open every Wednesday - Sunday 7:30am to dusk now through July 31, 2010. Mondays and Tuesdays the Rookery will only be available during normal park hours (9-5). This past weekend (2/6 - 2/7) was our first under extended hours and despite the rather cool and breezy weather, the birds did not disappoint!
At this point we have somewhere around 40 Great Egret nests, and they can be found displaying, courting, and nesting throughout the Rookery. Several Anhinga have also made nests directly across from the North Gazebo on the east bank, and Anhinga courtship activity is just now beginning to pick up. A pair of Limpkin are quite active throughout the day feeding on mollusks and calling back and forth. It looks like they have decided on using their same nest from the past few years, although they have been seen exploring some old nests from other birds. Small amounts of Snowies, Tricoloreds, Little Blues, and Cattles are available, and their numbers are increasing at dusk. While the Snowies are just beginning some limited courtship behavior, none of the other species have begun nesting. Of course, I'm not counting the Cormorants, as they nest all year-round, and while there are no Cormorant nests currently within the Rookery, they can be found in abundance over the South Alligator Island across from the Flamingos.
Flocks of White Ibis are still arriving by the hundreds at dusk, and at times the air is simply alive with activity as they fly around settling into their roosting spots. The Osprey are around and have been actively feeding, as well as a pair of Night Herons (a juvenile and an adult) flying about in the morning and late afternoon. We have had one young spoonbill posing along the East Bank and several fly-overs of more, but not much consistent Spoonie activity at this point. A couple of Glossy Ibis are also flying in at dusk normally roosting along the East Bank across from the North Gazebo.
Activity in the morning is pretty much limited to Great Egrets, Wood Storks, Limpkin, and Great Blues as most of the roosting birds head out to their respective feeding areas. Late afternoon has the most activity as the roosting birds arrive, but regardless of when you choose to come, there is always something to see!
