Each February, a quiet retention pond in west Pasco County transforms into a seasonal rookery where wood storks, great egrets, white ibis, anhingas, and both tricolored and little blue herons gather to court, nest, and raise chicks. The mixed-species colony allows several bird species to breed simultaneously, with adults constructing stick nests, laying two to five eggs, and sharing incubation duties for about a month. Over the following 10 to 12 weeks, parents make frequent feeding trips, regurgitating fish and insects to their chicks and guiding them toward their first flights. Nesting occurs from late winter into spring, when lower water levels concentrate fish in shallow wetlands, while an alligator circles the pond, offering some protection but also posing a risk to fallen chicks. By early summer, the rookery quiets as fledglings take flight and the birds disperse across the region.
West Pasco County Pond Becomes Seasonal Bird Rookery
