Cypress Aviary

Our Cypress Aviary is home to about 100 birds that are native to South Carolina's swamps.  All of our animals are non-releaseable, and many of the egrets and ibis came from rehab centers or other zoos.

In 2012, our white ibis started breeding and had six babies.  The adults are mostly white, and this juvenile has brown wings.  The exhibit is tidal, and many wild species of turtles, frogs, and fish come in to visit.

The largest population in the aviary is the black-crowned night-heron.  The adults are a striking black and grey with red eyes, and the juveniles have brown speckles with yellow eyes.  For the last four years, our herons have been very successful nesters.  While we are happy to have a self-sustaining population, we have decided to share our good fortune with other zoos. 

Night herons look the same whether they are male or female, so first we needed to do some gender testing.

http://youtu.be/44RQ2BHqmMM

We collect a drop of blood and mail it to a lab.  They send us the results in about a week.  We identify each birds using a band on their leg.

We began our testing on three babies that fell from their nest too early.  They were raised by zookeepers until they were old enough to be reintroduced to the adult herons.

Zoo staff have tested 28 birds over the last month, so we have this down to a science!   Last week, we drove the first group to another zoo.

Wood Duck Survey

We've had a very busy spring here at Brookgreen Gardens!  Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a survey of our wood duck nest boxes.  Two wonderful Brookgreen volunteers use their boat to visit 39 nest boxes.  It took about three hours to complete the survey.  We wait until most of the ducks are finished nesting, and look for evidence of those nests and successful hatches.

Each box is numbered, and its location is recorded on a GPS device.

Wood ducks prefer a clear flight path and will not use a box that is covered by water plants.  Allen needed to trim around several of the boxes while balancing on the boat.

Allen opened each box to check for evidence of wood duck activity.  Sometimes we found Prothonotary Warbler mommas or eggs (look carefully).

Richard found a yellow rat snake.  Once he determined that the nest was inactive, the snake was returned to the box.

This eastern screech owl returned for a second season.  He was not happy to see us, so we decided not to disturb "his" box.

And wood duck eggs!  Females lay about twelve eggs.  Many of the boxes had evidence of recent nesting and eggshells from successful hatches.

 

The scenery was quite nice as well, and we were able to peek at some heron nestlings.  I was happy to be a small participant in a successful program.

Otter Birthday Cards

At our otter celebration, visitors were given the opportunity to make birthday cards for the otters.

We hung the cards at the otter exhibit for two days.  These were two of my favorites.

Otters love their fishy birthday cakes!

Otter Celebration Pictures

Otters and visitors had a great time at our Otter Celebration on Saturday.

Our thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success!  

Here are some photos, courtesy of Anne Malarich.

Our first cake was paper mache with fish in the candles.

We had a huge tide on Saturday, and the otters seemed to have fun swimming over areas that are normally dry.  We have seven otters total, and they are managed in two groups.  We rotated the groups onto a different exhibit in the middle of the day.  All the presents and cakes were eventually dragged into the water.

Many of our otters were born in March, and this is a very common time for our wild otters to have pups as well.  It is also breeding season.  Otters sometimes take a full 365 days to have their babies!  Fortunately for them, they are not actually pregnant the whole time.  This process is called delayed implantation.

Meet Caesar

Please welcome the newest member of our Brookgreen family!

Caesar is a male tunis sheep, and he was born on February 21, 2014.  

He was named by our large animal veterinarian.

His mother, Mole, keeps a very close eye on her baby.  She is not aggressive, but puts herself between zookeepers and Caesar, and calls for him when we need to pick him up.

Caesar spends most of his time nursing and sleeping, but he loves to jump around (for no apparent reason), and we recently gave him some hay bales for exercise.

Caesar is easily on view at our Plantation Barn.  Until he is a little older, Caesar will be in the sheep stall with his mother.  This arrangement also gives Mole a rest from the group and the male sheep, Ramsey.  The young females in the group are showing a lot of interest in the new baby through the fencing.

Otter Celebration

The zoo is having a party! 

 Please join us for our third annual Otter Celebration on Saturday, March1, 2014.  All parts of the event are free with garden admission.  You will receive an invitation and schedule at the Admissions Plaza, but you do not need the invitation to participate.  We just want to officially invite you to the party!  

Otters demolishing their jello cake in 2013.  Their first cake will be paper mache this year.

Schedule of Events

10:00 AM and 12:00 PM - Storytime.  A different story will be read at each session.

Shelter at the American Sculpture Center, near the Plantation Barn

10:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Kid's Craft Tables & Wetlands Conservation Area

Tables near the Small Raptor Aviaries - great crafts to take home and a fun video!

  10:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Discovery Cart at Alligator Exhibit

See and touch animal bones, furs, feathers, and more.

10:30 AM and 2:00 PM - Otter Party at Otter Exhibits

We manage two groups of otters, so each party will have similar presents for the otters.

10:30 AM to 2:30 PM - Otter Video shown continuously except during Storytime

Shelter at the American Sculpture Center, near the Plantation Barn

1:00 PM - Mother Nature Cafe Tour meets at Plantation Barn

This normal tour gives great information about all our animals and feeds some of them.

2:30 PM - Meet the Animals at the Lowcountry Center Program Shed

This normal program offers an up-close look at some of South Carolina's other great animals. 

Otters love the rain (even when we do not), so our event is rain or shine.  The craft area will move to the Storytime shelter if needed.  Please join us as we celebrate otters and our very important wetlands.

Snow Day

Brookgreen Gardens had some unusual weather this week.  The roads and paths are very icy, and we even saw some snow this morning!  Unfortunately, we were closed to visitors yesterday and today, but things will warm up tomorrow.

When we have severe weather of any kind, the zookeepers have a decision to make.  Most of our animals like to eat every day!  We have to balance the safety of our staff with the needs of our animals.  For this winter weather, the zookeepers that lived closest to Brookgreen came in to get everything done.  It gives us an appreciation for our northern coworkers!

 

 Turkey vultures

Fortunately, we have only South Carolina native animals in our collection.  It does get cold here, and they are well adapted for the weather with a little help from us.  Other zoos have to worry about keeping African and tropical species happy in the winter!

The animal sculptures had a nice layer of ice on them.

 

The zoo birds just tolerate the weather, but the otters have a great time playing in the snow and ice.

In January and February, Brookgreen is a fantastic place for birdwatching.  For those of you that get a little overexcited when you see a cedar waxwing, I included my bird list from today:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-rumped Warbler

American Robin - saw over 150 yesterday

Red-winged Blackbirds - about 50

Cedar Waxwing

Dark-eyed Junco

Blue Jay

Cardinal

American Crow

Mourning Dove

Great Egret

Anhinga

Lots of Eastern Bluebirds and Carolina Chickadees around, but not today!