Alligator Farm

[jlphoto]

So I spent last week shooting waterfowl out by Manning South Carolina. First two days the temp while wading out into the water an hour before sunrise was hovering around 18 degrees. Nothing like breaking ice at 6am. Now I'm soaking up the sun in St. Augustine FL with 80 degrees of vitamin D inducing bliss lol.


The Alligator Farm rookery is already getting underway out here. There have been 4 rosette spoonbills hanging out each day Ive been - all showing courtship displays.

The great egrets are starting to build nests. These birds are flying back and forth most of the day with nest building material. Several of them are also displaying now as well and all are wearing their nuptial plumes.

There are a few woodstorks in the vicinity - also just beginning to bring in nesting materials. The woodstorks seem to be out of the rookery very early, come back in around noon or so, leave, and then back in about 30 mins before the place closes for the night.

OF course there is the standard plethora of black crowned night herons, yellow crowned night herons, snowy egrets, cattle egrets, and the like hanging out around the swamp all day long.

Ill be heading back to NC this weekend. If anyone is coming down this way and has any questions feel free to hit me up

Jared

[rpk717]

Wow, we were there Sunday morning for a couple hours and it was totally different. We saw a few BCNH, a couple great egrets, 4 spoonbills, one wood stork, and a couple snowy egrets. No cattle egrets or YCNH. For us it was pretty dead considering the other 20 times or so I've been there. We were thinking of waiting at least a few weeks before heading down again.

You sure hit a good time to be there. Things must have picked up in just a couple days.

[jlphoto]

Robert,
I would recommend waiting a few weeks before you come back. It should really be getting good at that point.

Were you out there in the morning? The reason that I ask is that since the nest building is JUST getting started and only with a couple of species, the area is still primarily an evening roost right now instead of a rookery. In the evening there are a few hundred birds flying in. Where as when the breeding season gets underway there will be birds all day.

The YCNHs have actually been the most numerous and predictable birds there this week.

Its amazing what one day will make huh.

Jared

[rpk717]

You're absolutely right, we were there in the morning, and couldn't get in until after 9:00 am [no red door option yet]. I agree, last year I was there in Feb in the evening and the birds were quite active and numerous.