One of our most striking Florida birds is the Roseate Spoonbill. Adult Roseate Spoonbills, especially in breeding colors, look stunning in any pose. Their new, paler-pink fledglings have learned to open those great wings and take short flights, but they’re still a bit unsteady here! Getting ready for take-off . . . Sometimes they manage […]
Tag Archives: Roseate Spoonbill
I’ve always enjoyed Audubon.org’s description of this bird: “Gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close is the Roseate Spoonbill.” (Audubon.org) The ‘Rosie’ is the only spoonbill (of six species worldwide) to inhabit the New World, and the only one to have such colorful plumage. “Like all other spoonbills, the Roseate Spoonbill frequents shallow aquatic […]
We had the pleasure of visiting Orlando Wetlands again two weeks ago. Always one of my absolute favorite places! There’s so much to see there at this time of year, and I’m sure I’ll post other photos soon. But I just couldn’t resist starting with the Roseate Spoonbills. The Spoonbills were very actively flying back-and-forth […]
Actually, according to Bird Fact and others, there are several collective nouns for a group of White Pelicans, including “a squadron, pod, pouch or scoop of pelicans” (and ‘parade’ is not one of them 😉). I was fortunate to witness MANY groups of White Pelicans last week at Merritt Island NWR! They are so fun to […]
Roseate Spoonbills gather, as if on display. What a sight to behold as we started walking down the trail recently at Orlando Wetlands 💕~!
The Roseate Spoonbills are the only type of spoonbill in the Western Hemisphere. Although they visit us often, their breeding grounds in Florida are mostly in the mangrove swamps and coastal marshes, lagoons and bays south of us (FWC). The birds above are young, as noted by their pale soft pink plumage. As they mature, […]
“Every day I walk out into the world / to be dazzled, then to be reflective.” (excerpt from Long Afternoon at the Edge of Little Sister Pond, by Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies, 2003)
Actually, the first day was completely overcast, quite chilly and very windy – but beautiful nonetheless! We were treated to sightings of many of the Merritt Island ‘regulars’, only a few of which are pictured here. White Ibis and Cattle Egrets like those above were ubiquitous, and groups of Roseate Spoonbills gathered in the shallow, […]
Adult Roseate Spoonbill above and his younger juvenile friend below were in attendance. You can easily tell who’s who by the differences in the colors of their heads, necks, bills, and the intensity of their pink plumage.They always make quite a showing at the Space Coast Birding Festival💕. These lovelies were all seen on Black Point […]
Birder's Journey 