Gatorland Rookery Update - March 2008

Now that the "secret" is out, I thought I would share some information on the Gatorland Rookery for those of you that have never visited us before, as well as some recent information for those of you that have. I don't want to duplicate the pricing and hours information, please see this thread for that info: http://birdphotographers.net/forums/...ead.php?t=6103

Here's what is happening as of March 20th, 2008

Nesting Birds

• Great Egret (over 100 nests all over the Rookery)
• Snowy Egret (lots and lots)
• Cattle Egret (north end and Cove area, many nests will increase to hundreds in April/May/June)
• Tricolored Heron (everywhere, over 25 nests currently)
• Little Blue Heron (just starting nesting on east bank, will have many in next few weeks)
• Wood Storks (about 12 nests, some still under construction, 2 nests with chicks so far)
• Roseatte Spoonbill (one nest so far, not viewable from boardwalk)
• Grackals (all over)
• Double Crested Cormorants (over 30 nests, many have already fledged)
• Anhingas (about 15 nests so far)
• Limpkin (one nest-still under construction)

Birds I have seen this month

• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Cattle Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Tricolored Heron
• Little Blue Heron
• Green Heron
• Wood Storks
• Anhinga
• Cormorants
• Limpkin
• Roseatte Spoonbill
• Osprey
• White Ibis
• Glossy Ibis
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• Swallow Tail Kites
• Black Vulture
• Assorted Ducks on fly-overs
• Assorted Songbirds (Grackels, Cardinals, Robins, Catbirds, etc.)

There is a LOT of activity, with constant courtship displays and several Great Egret nests have chicks, may more will start hatching next week. Snowies, Cattles and Tricolors have eggs and Lil' Blues just starting. Spoonbills are present and love to pose for pictures. Night Herons and Ibis available later in day. Alligators are now in courting season, and have started bellowing in the mornings. If you come for a visit, be sure to bring extra batteries and plenty of memory cards, as it is almost non-stop action.

http://gatorland.com/blogs/rookery/f...ding-marsh.jpg

The Gatorland Rookery is a 10 acre site located in the middle of Gatorland. It is man made, created in 1991 as a natural breeding habitat for our alligators. We have a live, user-controllable webcam for viewing within the Rookery, always good to get a preview of the action, and a Rookery Blog I try to keep updated regularly. Both are accessible from the main page at http://www.gatorland.com (look for the "As Seen on TV" section}. We have boardwalks, two covered Gazebos, and a 3 story observation Tower you can shoot from... as well as lots and lots of birds! If you get a chance... come on over and check us out!

Mike Godwin
Gatorland

Hey Mike,
I will try to get up there saturday 29th, this is going to be my first time at Gatorland.
I spoke with Maxis last friday and he told that he had a very good time out there.

Posted in the Avian forum but figured I share here. Many great opportunities at Gatorland and Mike is a most gracious host. I had a great time this past Saturday.

Smoking bird Robert !!!! btw we found one at Little Estero One of the best I've seen !!!!

Thanks for the info Mike Will be visiting in two weeks !!!!

I have my GPS all set to take us up to Gatorland this Saturday (3/29) and am really looking forward to visiting. I have been following the great photos others have been able to get, and can't wait to finally make the roadtrip up from Tampa.

-robert.

I've got to get up there soon!!! Maybe we could put together a mini trip in April? ;) Let me know if anybody wants to head out there with me :)

If Mom is OK by then, we may go up on the 5th-6th.
Any takers?

My schedule is free, but I've got to talk to keeper of the coin purse if I can buy one of them handy-dandy photo passes next week ;)

Mom is going in the hospital tomorrow, so let's see how it goes.

Let me know if there is anything I can do for you and Al. I know hospital visits are never easy. Big hugs for you and mom!!!

Hope everything will be fine Fab!

http://gatorland.com/blogs/rookery/f...03/32708_2.jpg

As March comes to a close the Gatorland Rookery is filled with hundreds of nesting birds, including two pairs of Spoonbills that have decided to nest this year. The banded female shown above is the same one that successfully reared two beautiful offspring last year, the very first time we have ever had a Spoonbill nest at Gatorland. It's quite a thrill when these gorgeous birds fly by so close you can almost reach out and touch them. I shot the photo above using a 70-200 lens at 190mm, and cropped just a bit to fill the bird in the frame. You don't need a big lens to get great pictures, but there are a myriad of opportunities for a wide range of focal lengths, so bring it if you got it!

It's been great to meet some of you from BPN, and I look forward to having all of you visit when you have the opportunity. April, May, and June are the peak months for Gatorland's Rookery, but activity continues through August. Every day seems to bring a new nest of Great Egret chicks, and the first of the Tricolored and Snowy nests should be hatching in about a week. The Little Blues are increasing in numbers and have begun nesting along the East bank across from the Observation Tower. It appears that we will have our very first Limpkin nest, as one of the pair has been hanging out in a nest consistently for the past several days.

There is plenty of courtship and nest building going on, and the Wood Storks are very active along the East Bank, courting, mating, and bringing in nesting material throughout the day. Both pairs of Spoonbills are making their nests next to the Wood Storks, which is rather ironic as Wood Storks now occupy their nesting area from last year. Currently, there are over a dozen nesting pairs of Woodies on the East bank, almost directly across from the North Gazebo.

The alligators are also increasing in courtship activity, and this Saturday morning everyone was treated to an alligator serenade as the gators in the Breeding Marsh bellowed for about 10 minutes... providing a pretty cool photo opportunity!

Beginning Tuesday, April 1, 2008 we will make available a single day "Dawn to Dusk" ticket to accommodate those folks that only have a day or so available to visit. This ticket will allow entry at 7:30am with the ability to stay past closing time until dusk, and is only available Tuesday through Saturday. Tickets will be available online for $29.99 and can be pre-purchased to allow easy access for early entry.

Any questions or comments please let me know!

Mike Godwin
Gatorland

PS. Great shot Robert... thanks for sharing!

Blake,
I'm interested in a get-together at Gatorland so keep me informed.

Fabs and Al,
I'm thinking of you. I hope everything turns out well.

Van

Thanks for the update Mike.

I was there saturday and had the pleasure of meeting Mike Godwin, Sid Garige and Robert Amoruso.Looking forward to going back soon.

I want to personally thank Mike for an outstanding day at Gatorland. My wife and I had a wonderful day, and for those who have not been there, this is a must visit. It was a bit overwhelming, for there is just so many opportunities, and Mike made it a point and went out of his way to make the experience very enjoyable. It was our first time ever visiting Gatorland, and we had such a great time, it will not be our last. Thanks again Mike, it was a pleasure to meet you, and will be back again!

I posted some of the photos I shot at http://galleries.robertlafollette.com/orlando/

-robert.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Van Hilliard

Blake,
I'm interested in a get-together at Gatorland so keep me informed.

Fabs and Al,
I'm thinking of you. I hope everything turns out well.

Van

---

I most definitely will ;) I'm going to send you an email about the weekend.

Gatorland will be our SECOND GTG location soon after Alligator Farm. June should be amazing at Gatorland!

Another from Gatorland this past weekend.

A wing was clipped so I took part of the other wing, reversed it, used some BG from another image and repaired the clipped wing.

Everything sound so nice at Gatorland. I can't wait to visit. My family was in town the last five days but I had to stay behind due to work. They were caught in that arrest yesterday at the airport. Every time they called made me think of the reports here on the forums. I hope to visit this year but not sure I will have the time. I look forward to seeing more photos here.

Gatorland is on my definite to do list for sure when I come down this year and next February April. It sounds breathtakingly exciting.

I spent 2 great days at Gatorland while on spring break at the end of March. I met Mike the first day when I decided to just scout the place out. Mike took a lot of time giving me the grand tour, showing me a lot of birds that I might have missed and pointed out all the nooks and crannies. It is so nice to feel welcome as a photographer. Mike is a photographer and has gone out of his way to make the entire rookery "photography" friendly. There is so much more room than at the Alligator Farm that you can really spread out and work the birds that you choose while having many different settings to choose from. I was amazed at the potential to get some of the birds out in the open as well as good views of a couple of nests. If any of you are in the area and want a great day of photography I hope that you give it a try. I'll be back down the first of June for a couple more visits. I sure hope that we can have a get together while I'm back.

Sorry I haven't been able to post for a couple weeks, things have been so busy I barely have time to dump my flash card and see some of what I shot before heading off to bed!

March has been a great month at Gatorland, and it has been a real pleasure to meet all of you who have visited, and I do look forward to meeting the rest of you when you have the time to visit. Our new Birding program at Gatorland seems to be doing quite well, and I hope that we have made the park more accessible for everyone. It's been a great learning experience, with no negative impact upon the park, our birds, or our guests. Thank you to all who have commented so graciously, again, it is a real pleasure to meet all of you!

Stay tuned for the April Rookery update coming soon... right now it's time for dinner!

Mike Godwin
Gatorland