230


from the edge of the Florida ridge to the sea. Feeding--

centered first near Fisheating Creek, then on and near the

Immokalee Rise, and finally in the Big Cypress and the

Fahkahatchee. The birds fed last in the lowland

(predominantly Eleocharis cellulosa) marshes inside the

dike at the edge of Lake Okeechobee, which were the last

marshes in south Florida to dry. The lake is managed as a

reservoir and water levels are artificially high there at

the beginning of the dry season, even in dry years. By

feeding a few weeks in one place and a few weeks in

another, the Wood Storks found food for themselves and

their nestlings throughout the entire nesting period.

 Aggregations of Wood Storks were seen foraging at

great distances from the rookery at the beginning of the

season, before eggs were played, and near the end of the

season, when the young were large, but the birds stayed

nearer the rookery during incubation and the early stages

of raising young. The nearness of many large marshes such

as Corkscrew and the Okaloacoochee to Corkscrew Swamp

Sanctuary is probably the reason the Wood Storks selected

the area as a nesting site. Although the birds can fly

long distances for food they need nearby sources during the

first stages of raising young.



Wood Stork Feeding in Man-Made Areas

 Wood Storks also foraged in man-made structures,

particularly near the beginning and the end of the dry