Sunset Cruise on Rookery Bay, Southwest Florida
Saturday 26 April 2008
Part 2: Into The Rookery
Dr. Jerry Jackson is a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He’s kindly and energetic, and demonstrates a keen, bubbling-over enthusiasm for his subject, namely – birds! Dr. Jackson doesn’t always do this eco-tour; I have the impression it was a special treat for all us public radio geeks who listen to his radio spot on WGCU every morning.
What’s a Rookery?
He started off by telling us about the word “rookery”, which he points out has “rook” at it’s root, which is a European crow. Indeed, dictionary.com tells us that this is so, and also points out that “rook” can also mean “to swindle”. Perhaps the verb arises from a crow’s proptensity to swipe things. So if a crow is a “rook”, then a crow’s nesting place is a “rookery”, a term which came to be more broadly applied to places where any types of birds have their colonies.
The Importance of Mangroves
Dr. Jackson apparently loves words nearly as much as he loves birds, for he went on to expound upon the word “mangrove, remarking that the roots look like the legs and feet of a “man”, and that they grow in a “grove” or tight grouping.
NEXT TIME: More about the mangrove islands and their inhabitants.
Hey this is interesting and informative. I love such posts. Do visit my ‘i Share’ if you get time. recently visited the migratory birds at Kaggaladu near Bangalore.
Loved the pictures a lot.
Reply
Good stuff Tink! Waiting for more!
Reply
What a fascinating post. The word rookery was also used here as a name for London’s worst and most violent slums. They were pulled down in the 19th Century
Reply
wow! fantastic shots! are you a professional photographer? thasks for dropping by…
Reply
Nope, not a professional. Not by a long shot! I did use Picnik to polish some of the photos a bit.
Reply
I think I might be learning something here.
Reply
Nice and educational
Reply
This is great! I too am getting an education.
Reply
Coolio! I did not know what a rookery was before. Cheers!
Reply
Very interesting and great photos. We took the Tarpon Bay Explorers boat trip which sounds much like this trip. Speaking of Crows–did you know that a flock/group of Crows is called a murder? Kind of goes along with rook, huh?
Reply
Wow that is very interesting, Learn something new and the meaning of Rook
Reply
Thay looks wonderful! Some amazing photos!!
Our Happy Happenings
Livin’ With Me
Reply
We love birds out here but all ours are the desert kind. Its nice to see some around the water
Reply
Very impressive, Tink! Thanks for all the great pix!
Reply
Thanks for sharing this post on the mangroves. They are an interesting an important environment.
You would probably enjoy our recent post on wild cats.
Reply
Marvelous post, Tink. Thanks. Rookery is a wonderful word. Thanks for the story and the pictures.
Reply
Such beautiful pictures and very educational! Thanks for sharing.
Reply
This looks like a really lovely crise. I wish I could have been there with you. Looking forward to more of your pics and don’t ya just LOVE picnik.
Oh, and one thing I just found out about it. I used to post from Picnic to my Flickr account. Well Picnik only allows you to store so many photos. SO……. I went and deleted some from Picnik, and found that they were deleted from my Flickr account and thus my blog too. DRAT!!
Just FYI
Reply
cool shots!
Reply
Pretty pics!
Reply