The Rookery at St. Augustine (not from the kayak)

Cattle Egret and chick

Today our view it is not from our kayak but from our feet. Mom is visiting and as much as she likes going out sight seeing I cannot put her in a kayak for hours. I also want to spend time with her. With that in mind decided to take her out to St. Augustine, where I took my In-Laws when they visited almost a year ago. But instead to take Mom to the Spanish Fort in St. Augustine, took her to the Alligator Farm since I have heard about their nice Boardwalk around the swamp and the bird rookery that is in there. Have to tell you that it was great. Mom liked the trip and so did we.

Gator at alligator lagoon

Quite frankly it is not the same to look a gator at a protected enclosure than looking at it from a kayak. But I am glad the guy in the picture above was inside the lagoon and I was out of it. It would be freaky to be close to a gator doing that in the wild. But after watching the feeding show they presented at the Alligator Farm, and adding all the gators we have seen in a little more than a year paddling, it is clear that they are not vicious killers. They can be scary though and it is better to respect and give them some room.

Alligator feeding show at Alligator Farm

I will spare you the details for tonight. No Put In/Take Out information since there was no kayaking involved, well...not completely true, but here is the information on The Rookery at Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. Let us go directly to the pics wifey took today at The Rookery.

Cattle Egret

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Tri-Colored Heron

Wood Stork

Roseate Spoonbill

And then the cool part of this trip...chicks...NO!!!! No those chicks. This is a G rated blog. I am talking about these chicks...

Great Egret chicks....

Cattle Egret chicks...

Snowy Egrets chicks...

Snowy Egret checks on the eggs

Snowy Egret chicks

Snowy Egret chicks

Snowy Egret at the nest

Snowy Egret takes care of its eggs

Snowy Egret chick

Tri-Colored Heron chicks...

Roseate Spoonbill chicks...

And Wood Stork chicks...

Alligators at the Alligator Swamp - Rookery area

Did You Know That?: Wading birds build their roosts in swampy areas with many alligators around since the gators provide the birds protection against predators like possums, raccoons, and snakes. Even when the birds do lose chicks to the gators it is still a positive tally for the birds, who would lost way more if the gators were not around.








That is all. I hope to be back in the water. Spotted a couple of places while driving to St. Augustine and may kayak one of them next week.

Thanks for reading and see you soon for another Views From Our Kayak!!!!!

The Rookery