UTSW Rookery

Spring 2016 I started visiting the bird rookery at UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. It was my first time to see a rookery. In this gallery I am attempting to document what takes place in a rookery for each species of aquatic bird that comes here. It has been an amazing journey that I am sharing here. There are 8 species that nest here and I will divide them by species in the order that they show up.

3 / 441

Breeding Color

During breeding season, a mature great egret devopes the bright green area in front of its eye. This area is called the lores. Also the eye gets a red ring around it. The bill darkens. The rest of the year the lores are yellow, the bill is yellow and the eye is yellow without the ring of red. This egret is all decked out in its breeding colors and ready to find a mate. It was not yet paired up on this day.
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
UT Southwest Medical Center Rookery

great egret egret white egret aquatic bird aquatic water fowl waders dallas texas ardea alba Rookery breeding season courtship behaviors displaying breeding nesting breeding plumage UT Southwest Medical Center breeding colors