The Birds of Wakulla Springs

Take an exciting look at one of the world's largest springs, Wakulla Springs in Florida. This video shows you the park's birds.

The Birds of Wakulla Springs It is the eerie cry of the Limpkin. This is bird is rarely found outside Florida but it is common at Wakulla. The male and female look exactly alike. The birds have huge feet for waiting or walking over floating plants but a branch is no problem. The Limpkin is probing for something special, not these eggs, but for the snail that laid these eggs — the apple snail. There, he has caught one, the largest and the juiciest fresh water snail in North America. People pay good money in French restaurants to eat like this. The spunky Greenback Heron is a small bird related to the large - that were hunted for their plumes around the turn of the century. The Greenback camouflages much better with the scenery than its larger cousins. But if you don’t look closely, you might not see them. Much rarer, the least bittern tries to blend in with the bulrushes by pointing his bill to the sky. He can also keep an eye on you that way. In May, herons, and other water bird setup a rockery along the river at the southern end of the park. And here in seclusion, they rear their chicks. A great egret erects as her splendid plumes in a nuptial display while others attend to their sizeable young. A double crested cormorant with an emerald eye and hooked bill dives for a fish. Overhead, her chicks are large and almost ready to leave the nest. In April, when the cypresses are getting their fresh new needles, the female anhinga is sitting on the eggs. That’s enough to say that her nest is complete. The male continues to bring fresh branches to the nest and the female arranges them. Her neck is tan, the male’s neck is black and they make handsome pair when their colors are enhanced during the breeding season. At home in the water, the anhinga or water turkey as it is called swims underwater, its plumage soaked through. Less buoyant than another birds, the snake bird as it is also known snorkels up in serpentine way. It’s no wonder that people are fascinated by this prehistoric creature and they send picture postcards of it to their friends. The bill of the anhinga is a sharp spear and the unlucky fish that is skewered becomes part of the juggling act.