The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is pleased to announce this year's photo contest judge selection. Though recent judges have been a single judge with a nature photography background, 2014 will be a team effort by renowned herpetologists Dick and Patti Bartlett! All photos below by...
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. MAX ADULT MAX NEST MAX CHICK Cattle egret 74 60 128 Great...
Congratulations to all the winners of our 20th Annual Photo Contest! With over 560 images submitted, Maxis Gamez, this year's judge, had a daunting selection process ahead of him. This year's spectacular winning photographs will be on display at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm as well as here on our Rookery Blog. BEST...
Photo by Robert O'Toole The rookery is gearing up for chaos as we move into April! Roseate spoonbills began nesting early this year. Three nests have already fledged out and 4 more pairs are either incubating or have recently hatched chicks. The spoonbills are following the staggered nesting pattern of previous years. The...
Photo by Maxis Gamez The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is pleased to announce Maxis Gamez as our judge for the zoo's 20th Annual Photo Contest! Maxis Gamez is a self-taught professional nature photographer residing in Sarasota, Florida. He started photography as a hobby, but has now decided...
Photo by Jill Carney This year's rookery season started out strong after a mild winter. The Great egrets, always the first to arrive, made their initial appearance almost two weeks early. The season was off to a good start and the possibility of our biggest rookery season yet seemed probable....
Congratulations to all the winners of our 19th Annual Photo Contest! With nearly 350 photos submitted, David Moynahan, this year's judge, faced quite a challenge during the selection process. So much so that he selected eleven winners instead of ten! This year's winning photographs are better than ever and...
Photo by Michael Barrett Friday, July 20th is the quickly approaching deadline for our 19th Annual Photography Contest! The last day for early entry into the park is the previous Sunday, July 15th. Photo contest rules and entry forms can be downloaded from our website: http://www.alligatorfarm.com/photography.html. Photographers are encouraged...
How quickly things can change! One of the blog's more recent posts detailed the extreme drought conditions affecting Northeast Florida. Thank you everyone for your prayers and rain dances, but please focus your attention on other drought-stricken regions for awhile. Tropical Storm Debby brought St. Augustine an...