The Rookery

Last night, my hubby and I visited a unique bird-watching place very close to our home in Venice. The Rookery is a small park maintained by the Venice Area Audabon Society. If you haven't been there, I'd highly recommend a visit.

The park is located on Annex Road, very close to the intersection of Jacaranda Boulevard and Tamiami Trail. There is a small pavilion with picnic tables and a few benches scattered around a small lake with an island in the center. Off the one side of the pavilion are about a half-dozen bat houses on tall poles.

Every evening around dusk, hundreds of birds fly to this park to roost on the island. We saw many great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, little blue herons, ibises, and a few we couldn't identify. (We have a bird guide but haven't unpacked it yet.)

We spent about an hour walking around the lake, watching the birds swoop in and jostle around for a spot on the island. They make the funniest sounds as they squawk and grumble, sometimes fighting over a branch. By the time darkness settles, the island is completely covered with birds.

And at this point, the bats come out to hunt insects. Or they are supposed to. Last night, we waited and waited, staring up at the bat houses. At around 6pm, we saw a few bats fly out of one house. According to another visitor, they normally fly out by the hundreds. We're not sure if the colony has been decimated by a disease, or if there is another explanation.

But the bird show is magnificent enough to warrant a visit at dusk, or anytime of the day!