The alligators and wading bird rookery place a lot of strain on the 2 acre Native Swamp & Rookery habitat. Annual maintenance work is done to ensure the environment is more than suitable for all the critters and guests residing within and passing through. Every...
Our rookery peak nest count varies between 400-800 nests annually. Wading bird reproduction is dependent on habitat, water table depth, and prey availability. The chart below covers the last decade, developed by our hard-working rookery crew data collectors! 2021 turned out to be an "average"...
Yellow-crowned night heron by Tim Rucci By Megan Mello, Intern Common roosters, the Yellow-crowned (Nyctanassa violacea) and the Black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) are at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm’s rookery. These species is commonly found around the rookery during the winter and early spring months, normally...
BEST-IN-SHOW Roseate spoonbill Platalea ajaja Robert Van Mierop Palm Coast, FL The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park was pleased to host its 27th Annual Photo Contest in 2021 after missing out last year. With hundreds of photos submitted, award-winning Florida nature photographer Jack Rogers was challenged by the submission...
JACK ROGERS 27th ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST JUDGE! Jack Rogers is a prize-winning, widely published bird and nature photographer who has been photographing birds and other wildlife for decades. His images have appeared in magazines including Nature’s Best, Audubon, National Wildlife, Wildbird, Birder’s World, and Florida Wildlife, as...
A significant change was made to the boardwalk fenceline in order to improve safety conditions for park guests and the animals. This safety cabling, reminiscent of Jurassic Park's velociraptor containment, will aid further in the loss of equipment and other items overboard. It is very...
Photo by Jo-Ann Cittadino Article by Sylvia Van Boskirk, Rookery Intern Tricolored Herons are one of the more abundant and colorful residents of our Native Swamp and Rookery. Their nests tend to be about 13 feet off the ground, which is perfectly at eye level in the Swamp....
Photo by Catherine Calabria Article by Sylvia Van Boskirk, Rookery Intern Even though this has been an unusual year for humans, it was business as usual for the birds! Our rookery was alive with activity throughout the spring and summer as the birds returned to court and breed. By...
Photo by Bill Chitty Article by Sylvia Van Boskirk, Rookery Intern As we enter the end of the 2020 wading bird nesting season, now is a good time to look back on the history of a certain species in our rookery. The Roseate Spoonbill, which is designated as...