Rookery Update 4/13

13 Apr Rookery Update 4/13

Photo by Larry Arrington

Northeast Florida is currently being threatened by a state of extreme drought. Our region is seven inches below normal for the year and down twenty-three inches since the beginning of 2010. Wading birds depend on water and a reliable aquatic food source to survive and reproduce. How can a period of drought possibly benefit our rookery?

Surprisingly, times of extreme drought can actually improve the survival rate of their young! As a region finally begins receiving enough precipitation to move out of a drought, populations of small fish explode.  Their larger aquatic predators have temporarily been eliminated by the harsh weather conditions and take longer to recover than their prey items. The perfectly-sized fish meals for wading birds are then in abundance, triggering record breeding seasons in rookeries throughout Florida.

Northeast Florida is not yet on the way out of this dry spell, but our rookery doesn’t seem to notice! So far, three species now have chicks.  Peak season (which includes all of the following in large quantities: displaying, incubating, and chick rearing) should begin in two to three weeks and last for at least one month. Below is the most recent count acquired by the zoo’s phenomenal field research team: