WOOD STORK FACTS 🦩

Wood storks nest in mixed hardwood swamps, sloughs, mangroves, and cypress domes/strands in
Florida. They forage in a variety of wetlands including both freshwater and estuarine marshes,
although limited to depths less than 10-12 inches.
In the United States, Wood Storks currently nest in only three southeastern
states: Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. In the late summer and early autumn months,
after the breeding season, storks disperse from their colonies and are also seen in North Carolina
and the Gulf Coast states (
Habitat—Wood Storks typically nest in groups termed colonies or rookeries. Other wading bird
species such as egrets, herons, and ibis often nest at the same sites. Storks nest in trees or shrubs
surrounded by water, as well as on islands. From 2-20 nests can be found in a single tree. Water
around the nest trees provides an effective protective barrier against most terrestrial predators.
Breeding Cycle—Wood Storks need approximately 100-120 days for adults to proceed from
courtship and nest building to the departure of their young from breeding sit
Wood Storks breed in fresh and brackish forested wetlands.
Wood Storks are hefty wading birds with football-shaped bodies perched atop long legs. They
have a long neck and a long, thick bill that is curved at the tip. They fly with their neck and legs
outstretched but tend to perch with the neck drawn in, giving them a humpbacked appearance.
Not strictly migratory, but has a regular northward dispersal after nesting. Florida birds wander
well north in eastern states; flocks of birds from eastern Mexico occur along the Texas coast in
summer; birds from western Mexico appear in summer at Salton Sea and elsewhere in the
southwest. They are mostly extinct in Florida. They like to be on tall trees surrounded by water.
The species is a common nesting bird from coastal Mexico and northern Argentina throughout
interior South America, the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Hispaniola, and north to the
southeastern United States, including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Male wood storks are quiet but as you get closer to where they nest and they progressively get
louder
Live 11-18 years in the wild
Wood Storks breed in fresh and brackish forested wetlands.
Wood storks can fly as high as 6,000 feet on warm air thermals.
Wood Storks also have teeth
Wood storks are the largest wading birds that breed in North America; they nest 60 feet off the
ground in cypress trees in wetland areas of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida
Times the nesting season for the times when the fish are most prolific
Wood Storks breed in fresh and brackish forested wetlands.
400lbs of fish before they fledge
Need high water
Islands surrounded by water with alligators because it protects them from predation
Alligators lay under nests if something were to fall out of it
Native species
Bird porn
A group of wood storks is called a phalanx of storks.
Long bill in mud to feed
Quickest reflexes
Loss of wetlands causes the population to plummet
Petition to remove wood storks from the endangered species list
Restoration by getting rid of vegetation with fire
So they are trying to help out the taller trees that will benefit the storks
They flourish in North America, not in South America
Swamps are good for birds
Dug trenches to lead water to other places. Drain through canals
They dug canals to dispense them out of the land so that the wood storks had no place to live.
Nest during the dry season
Fly like raptors through the sky almost like kites.
Feeds not by sight
Quickly snaps beak to catch fish
Steep land creates hard feeding areas for the birds.
They reduced by 90 percent
The Florida homeowners petition to remove wood stork from the endangered species list
They used canals to drain water to help the birds and build houses
They nest when the puddles are dry ten when wet they feed babies
Only species in North America
They feel for the fish using beaks
uses its mouth to feel for the fish
Lost its food source
Why are they not really important?
Storks also provide important ecological values, playing key roles in food chains. Their
consumption of invertebrates, amphibians, fish, and even small mammals, and young crocodiles
helps to maintain balance in these populations.
Why are wood storks important to the ecosystem? The Wood Stork serves as an indicator species
for restoration of the Everglades ecosystem. Indicator species serve as excellent messengers of
the past, present, and future because their specific habitat requirements are so closely associated
with one particular environment
Raccoons are major Wood Stork nest predators in the Everglades, particularly when drought
allows them easy access to colonies