Christmas Bird Count St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery December 18, 2022 4:45-6:00 pm Much deserved credit given to the St. Johns County Audubon for performing this count annually, not only in our rookery, but throughout the county! The Christmas Bird Count was initially established in 1900 to encourage bird...
Photo by Jack Rogers Wood stork at Wakodahatchee Wetlands (because we love this species no matter their photo is taken!) The success of wading bird rookeries fluctuate annually due to water hydrology, human activity, and available feeding habitat. Ten species of wading birds now regularly nesting at...
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...
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 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...
Little blue heron pair Photo by Susan Jarrett This year's nesting season was a bit more out-of-the-ordinary. Though we always joke around that we are not privy to their schedules, a typical pattern has emerged over the years allowing us to guesstimate fairly accurately about who...
2017 was the busiest nesting season the swamp has seen since 2011 resulting in a max count of 706 nests! Many factors came into play, but in particular the end to the drought and the swamp rejuvenation efforts made the biggest difference. Hurricane Matthew arrived in October 2016...
Photo by Charles Wesley Another successful rookery season has come to a close! The significant maintenance changes that occurred over the winter provided more nesting opportunities for the smaller wading bird species. This resulted in an increase of nests across the board over the 2015 nesting season....
By John Brueggen, Director and Gen Anderson, General Curator For many years, visitors to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm have enjoyed the amazing phenomenon of native Florida wading birds choosing our alligator swamp boardwalk area as a roosting and nesting site. The protection afforded them against tree...