Sept. 12, 2010 - Wood Storks at Gatorland
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Wood Storks are one of the largest birds in North America and our only stork species. They are found in the southeastern United States, mostly in Florida. At Gatorland, near Kissimmee, Florida, there are Wood Storks nesting in the trees that surround the Alligator pool.
As demonstrated at Gatorland, these birds are colonial nesters. This is actually a photo of two separate nests in the same tree. The adult and juvenile on the left are in one nest and the adult and two juveniles on the right are in a different nest. All three juveniles are fairly old. However, the one on the left appears to be a little younger because of the downy fuzz still on its head.
I put this composite photo together to give you a close look at the bare head and huge bill of an adult Wood Stork. The bill is very thick at the base and tapers to a slight droop at the tip. It is very sensitive and allows the Wood Stork to feed by touch in murky water. A favorite place for them to feed is a shallow pond that is drying up. That concentrates the small fish and other pond inhabitants and makes for efficient feeding. I haven’t seen any explanation for the scaly-looking featherless head. (I did hear an explanation from Jim Stevenson, a friend of mine who live in Texas. He said "Same as spoonbills, and the same principle as vultures. They stick their heads on murky water and don't "want" to get their feathers stuck with crud in the water." Thanks, Jim.)
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