Saskia Janes reporting from St. Petersburg Audubon about the society's recent boat trip to the  Coffee Pot Bayou rookery:

The rookery, located just north of downtown St. Pete, hosts an almost continual nesting colony of Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and other water birds.   42 people made the trip and Ann Paul,  Tampa Bay Area Regional Coordinator for Audubon of Florida's Coastal Islands Sanctuaries, was on board and narrated the event.

Saskia advised that one of the good things she saw that evening,  (and there were many), was that only one dead bird was discovered caught up in monofilament fishing line; last year there were many.  Sadly, one Brown Pelican was observed "wearing" a plastic bib; demonstrating that litter is still a serious problem for our birds.

There were Brown Pelicans and nests in all stages of development, from very small, white chicks to youngsters as big as their parents. Good numbers of Tricolored Herons were observed on nests with eggs, and another major highlight was 12 Roseate Spoonbill fledglings, all very pink and trying out their wings.  Other nesting birds on this rather small mangrove island included Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets,  Cattle Egrets,  Black-crowned Night-Herons;  as  well  as  Great Blue Herons,  Double-crested Cormorants and Anhingas - all with chicks.  She also saw a pair of Reddish Egrets and a couple of adult Little Blue Herons.

At about 8 PM 200 White Ibis came flying in to roost on the island. Space was limited, but they all seemed to find a spot and though bickering was commonplace, they all stayed and eventually settled in.