2013 End of Season Report

03 Sep 2013 End of Season Report

Photo by William Pearce

After the banner rookery seasons of 2011 and 2012, with 818 and 704 nests respectfully, this year seemed so mellow and quiet.  With a maximum of 463 nests counted, the 2013 rookery season still exceeded the rookery’s 400 nest average.

The main Live oak tree benefited this year from the reduced number of wading birds nesting upon and loving it to death! After a tremendous amount of TLC provided before the nesting season and regular rainfall through the spring and summer, the Live oak tree is on the road to recovery.  Our certified master arborist team performed an air spade treatment by using concentrated air pressure to loosen the compacted sand around the tree’s root system and inject compost into the substrate.  The tree almost exhaled audible signs of relief. The build up of acidic bird guano combined with drought negatively impacted the soil’s pH and, therefore, the tree.

Wood stork nest numbers have plateaued over recent years at around 60, give or take a few.  The storks have moved off the declining Live oak and onto Bald cypress trees planted between 2002-2005.  The Cypress trees are finally large enough for the large wading birds and are more tolerant to slightly acidic soils.

Though spoonbill numbers appear down, they stagger their nests throughout the rookery season, resulting in just a handful of nests at any given time.  We will be reviewing this year’s spoonbill nest data to determine the true number of nests and their survival rates.  The first three nests were recorded on January 25th, almost 5 weeks earlier than the previous season.

We look forward to the return of the roosting winter species into the Native Swamp exhibit and cooler temperatures.

See you on the boardwalk!