What is the feeding frenzy you might be asking? The feeding frenzy at Corkscrew is when there is an overwhelming amount of prey that attract a high amount of predators. Several species of wading birds, snakes, alligators, and mammals show up to eat the plentiful fish in the ponds. To understand why the feeding frenzy occurs, you need to understand the hydrology behind the phenomenon.
Our dry season at Corkscrew is December-May where water levels decrease rapidly. However, our bodies of water don't actually start drying up until March. In March and April, water levels at Corkscrew decrease to the point that most of the water completely dries out. As the water continue to dry down, it traps high amounts of fish in small pockets of water with nowhere to go.
With the decreasing water levels in these ponds and the high density of fish, this is the perfect opportunity for the wildlife at Corkscrew to feast on the bountiful amounts of fish, invertebrates, and other aquatic species before the rainy season starts. The wading birds especially take this opportunity to feast, and aggregate in large numbers.
In the two-mile boardwalk at Corkscrew, we have the south lettuce lake and north lettuce lake. The picture below is what the north lettuce lake looks like when it is filled with water. This was taken on March 25, 2018 almost 3 weeks before the biggest feeding frenzy we have seen this year.
Photo Credit: Lee Martin 3/25/2018
Photo Credit: Melissa Gonzalez 4/19/2018
Feeding Frenzy video
Photo Credit: Melissa Gonzalez 4/19/2018
At 9am on April 19th, Kelsie and I did a Facebook Live on the Corkscrew page from the north lettuce lake to show our followers an update on what the lettuce lake looked like, and to educate about the feeding frenzy and hydrology. As Kelsie and I were walking towards the north lettuce lake, we could hear the loud calls of many wading birds coming from the direction of the north lettuce lake. We could feel the high energy coming from that direction and we knew it was going to be a great morning. As we got to the north lettuce lake the amount of wading birds we saw completely blew our minds. I never imagined that many wading birds at Corkscrew, and this completely exceeded my expectations. There were literally hundreds of birds in this lake! I counted over 50 Wood Storks, and over 50 Great Egrets all in close proximity of each other. Other species found in large amounts were the White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Anhinga, Tri-Colored Heron, and Great Blue Heron. The wildlife present at the north lettuce lake that day were eating high amounts of fish. I saw some Great Egrets catch decent sized fish one after the other. I could not believe that they could eat that much fish consecutively. With the amount of fish that each bird was catching I was sure that they would have eaten the majority of the fish by the end of that weekend and the wading birds would move on to the next hot spot. As I was staring out into the lake, I noticed that multiple birds continued flying in and adding to the large amount of birds. I looked up at the sky and saw an impressive amount of Wood Storks and Great Egrets circling, trying to search for the perfect spot to land. Just like little airplanes, intricately trying to find an open spot to land into the lettuce lake airport. I saw many Wood Storks, Great Egrets, Anhingas, and White Ibis circling the lake, and one by one they touched down. It was like they made their own Facebook event and one by one all the wading birds were flying in from different places to attend this massive feast. Check out the video below on the wading birds flying in.
To give you some perspective on how dramatic the change was overnight this is what the lettuce lake looked like the night before on April/18/2018 at 6pm. Kelsie and I were at the north lettuce lake and there were a couple of wading birds out that night. We saw Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, and Little Blue Herons, but not even close to the amount we saw the next morning.
Photo Credit: Melissa Gonzalez 4/18/2018
You might be wondering why there is not a feeding frenzy year round. If you think about it, usually the bodies of water at Corkscrew can get fairly deep especially after the rainy season (June-September). With the water levels being deeper, the fish are more spread out throughout the water and have more hiding spots therefore making it difficult for certain birds to catch fish. Wading birds with short legs tend to stick around shallow water and use their long beaks to forage along the bottom of the ponds as they do not want to be in deep water. Wading birds with long legs and necks such as Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons are able to get into deeper water to find their food but have the option to forage in shallow water as well. Therefore, the dry season is the perfect time for wading birds of all sizes. Because the water is shallow enough and the small bodies of water are stocked with high amounts of fish, the birds can easily catch them since there is less water and less room for hiding.
Photo Credit: Lee Martin 4/22/2018
The amount of wading birds had dramatically decreased two days later, but there were still more birds than you would regularly see in the year. Even though the amount of birds had decreased, these birds were still feasting on the fish still available.
The rainy season will be here if not by the end of May, then in June, and these wading birds will move somewhere else. I feel very lucky that I was able to be at Corkscrew during this huge feeding frenzy. It was definitely one of the coolest wildlife experiences I have ever had, and I will come back to Corkscrew annually just to witness this amazing event.
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed it!
-Melissa Gonzalez
If you are interested in watcing the Feeding Frenzy FB Live on the Corkscrew Page follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/CSS1954/videos/1935604939814679/
If you want to see a 1 minute video of the Feeding Frenzy follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/CSS1954/videos/1936402853068221/
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I am now in my third month at Corkscrew. Before I know it, it will be my time to leave this magical swamp at the end of the summer. The past 3 months have been incredible, and I truly love my internship here. I have seen what the swamp has to offer, and believe me when I say that the swamp is truly a special and important place that we must protect at all costs.
Kelsie left Corkscrew 2 weeks ago after an 8 month internship. I am really happy that I not only got to learn so much from her, but also that I was able to gain a great friendship. Good luck in your future endeavors Kelsie, the swamp will miss you!
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