General Habitat: Once found across the South, the wood stork's range in the United States has been reduced to Florida, south Georgia and a small portion of South Carolina. Storks are birds of freshwater and brackish wetlands, primarily nesting in cypress or mangrove swamps, and feeding in freshwater marshes, flooded pastures and flooded ditches. Flocks may travel up to 80 mi (130km) to feed in shallow waters. Particularly attractive feeding sites are depressions in marshes and swamps where fish become concentrated during periods of falling water levels. Wood storks feed by groping with their beaks. When their beaks touch a fish they seize it with one of the fastest reflex motions in the animal world. Reasons for decline are loss of feeding habitat and adverse water management practices particularly in the Florida Everglades.
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General Description: The wood stork is locally known as "the flinthead" because of its gray-black, featherless head. It stands more than 3.5ft (1.1m) tall and has a wingspan of more than 5ft (1.5m). The wood stork's body is white; the tail and trailing edges of the wings are black. The 6-9in (15-23cm), bill is black, thick at the base, and slightly decurved. Immature birds are dingy gray and have a yellowish bill. Wood storks fly with their legs and necks outstretched.
Woodstorks feeding in
Big Creek, west of Highway 78 bridge, McDuffie County, July 2000.
