Pembroke Pines Bird Rookery
In 1987 the entire city of Pembroke Pines was declared a bird sanctuary. For several years hundreds of White Ibis birds have flocked to the trees of a busy street corner in the center of Pembroke Pines.
The Ibis family (Threskiornithidae) is a large one! It is made up of 33 species, including the White ibis. They are all long-legged, long-necked wading birds with short tails. The White ibis is an excellent example of the colonial waterbird. These birds nest in huge colonies in fresh water marshes or along the ocean coast. Researchers have counted 60,000-80,000 individuals in one colony in the Everglades National Park, Florida! During the day, white ibis may fly up to 15 miles or more to find small crustaceans, fish, frogs, and aquatic insects to eat and to feed their young. Young birds are easy to identify. Chicks and nestlings are gray. They are brown with white bellies for the first 2 years of life. As they mature, they molt (shed) their brown plumage and grow white feathers. By the time they are fully grown, they will be about 23-27" (58-69 cm) long from beak to tail, with a wingspan of 3'2" (97 cm). White ibis live in the wetlands of the interior and coastal marshes and swamps. They eat crabs and crayfish, and they feed in very large groups. To find their food, they probe with their long bills into the mud as they slowly walk along. When they move from the feeding site back to the colony, they typically fly together as a flock. White ibis nest in huge, dense colonies of thousands of pairs of birds. The male selects the place in the tree or shrub where the nest will be built. He then brings sticks and leaves to his mate, who actually constructs the nest. The female usually lays 3 eggs. Both male and female will take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young.
Parking is tricky but not impossible, your best bet is the bank parking lot on the South East corner of the street. Also bring along a camera(you wont regret it) as a disguise as many people are often found taking pictures of these magnificent birds.
The container is a 4inch by 4 inch Lock & Lock container, it contains a log book and several small trading items.
In order to appreciate their beauty the best time to view these gorgeous birds is just as the sun is setting or when it is dark. At dusk hundreds of the Ibis flock to the trees like snow on a Christmas Tree. Thanks to dnunz for clarifying that the birds are actually White Ibis and not White Egrets.