Gatorland Rookery Update - March 2010
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The weather has been, well… just plain cold. As a result of this rather unusual cold Florida winter, the nesting season has been delayed for many of the birds within the Rookery. The Snowy Egret, Tricolored, Little Blue & Green Herons, and Cattle Egrets haven’t started nesting, nor have they gotten their breeding colors yet. The Wood Storks just began nesting last week, and the past few days the Spoonbills have been coming in to check out some potential nesting sites. I would say things are running about 3 weeks behind normal, but that’s not to say we don’t have nesting birds! The Great Egrets have been fairly constant since January, and we do have several nests with Great Egret chicks throughout the Rookery.
The Wood Storks have returned this year, and have recently begun nesting in their usual location along the northern east bank. Now is a great time to watch the Woodies courting, mating, nest building, and just plain flying around. At this point we have several sitting nests, with many more under construction. It’s great to have the Wood Storks back nesting again after their hiatus last year!
The Spoonbills have been arriving daily in the morning and late afternoon, and appear to be scoping out potential nesting sites. No sign yet of our original banded female M5, as all of the Spoonbills observed recently have no ID bands. The Spoonies are in great color, and love to pose for the camera. Flight shot opportunities are there daily, and are better in the late afternoon hours!
The American Crocodiles have been courting almost daily, with most of the courtship and mating behavior taking place on the north end of the Rookery north east of our North Gazebo. Despite the cold weather our crocs have done well, and nothing seems to be stopping their mating drive. Serious, our male crocodile can frequently be seen chasing alligators when he’s not out soaking up the sun.
The Black-crowned Night Herons have been very active, and you are almost guarenteed to see several in the early morning or late afternoon hours. They can be found on either end of the Rookery, as well as out in the main park, especially on the North Alligator Island.
The Swallow Tailed Kites arrived late February, and can be seen soaring in the sky above their usual haunt along the south Cypress Swamp. No sign yet of our Barred Owls, and there has been no noticeable activity at their old nest from last year. Lots of little birds in the mornings, including some Catbirds, Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Wrens, Warblers and even a parakeet. Momma Limpkin is sitting on a new nest located in a small palm next to a Cypress tree on the north side of the Observation Tower. Limpkin activity has been fairly constant around that area.
