Roseate Spoonbills Foraging
Thank you, Patty, for seeing them and telling Carol; and thank you, Carol, who then told me about the Roseate Spoonbills who were about 20 minutes away. I was out the door and in my car in 10 minutes!
There’s just something about Roseate Spoonbills that we all go ‘gaga’ over.
“You mean us?”
So let’s go gaga over these pink-a-licious beauties!
Bowl of Roseate Spoonbills foraging
Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbills
Roseate Spoonbills
Roseate Spoonbills
I hope these brightened your day! 😊
Gaga! Love these pink beauties. Great photos.
😊 Thank you, Ingrid!
The lighting was perfect! These RS are full of energy and very perky. Good shooting, Donna. 🙂
Thank you, HJ, it was in the morning. They were sweeping their bills back and forth and definitely full of energy! 🙂
Awwww! These are wonderful Donna! So so so glad they were still there when you arrived! Gaga indeed!!!
Thank you AGAIN, Carol! I am thrilled I didn’t think twice on going. To heck with the chores!! 😉
They are such stunning creatures. Lucky you to see so many. I only see one very occasionally. Great shots, Donna. 😍
Thank you, Sylvia! Your Miss Rosie needs to start a family around your pond…. 🙂
Wow, Donna! These are gorgeous! No wonder you jumped in your car and headed off to find them. Beautiful! By the way, are you having any issues with ‘social distancing’ at your location?
Thank you, Susan! No issues with social distancing, everyone respectfully stays 6′ apart. I actually pulled off the 2-way highway safely for these spoonbills while the cars continued on by. The birds are everywhere down here; and there are so many dirt roads and remote areas, I’ve been alone many times in my own little paradise. 🙂
Great captures Donna! Only time I was able to photograph one (yup… just 1) was at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island many years ago. But it was a thrill nonetheless.
Great captures Donna! Only time I was able to photograph one (yup… just 1) was at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island many years ago. But it was a thrill nonetheless.
Thank you, Steve! After not finding but one or two at a distance, I was planning to go to DDNWR for them and then the social distancing started. I’ve gotten lucky since with a few sightings around me, thank goodness! They were high on my list of birds I wanted to photograph while here. 🙂
These are incredible photos!
Thank you!
Beautiful colour and reflections Donna, you are so blessed to be seeing so much beauty. 🙂
Thank you, Ashley, I really do feel blessed and very fortunate. I am going to miss this area’s paradise when we depart in a few days….I hope we can return next winter!
I can quite see why you rushed off to capture them.
😊 Thank you, Tom!
Very nice Donna! One of my favorite birds to see & photograph! Well done!
Thank you, Reed!
Love these! Must be wonderful to watch them. 😊
Thank you, Irene! I wish it was easy to find and watch them every day sitting on a lovely bench. 😊
Makes your great images even more special. ❤️
such a odd looking creature. It looks like some parts got mixed up. Do they get the pink from what they eat?
Yes, Roseate Spoonbills do get their pink coloration from eating crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates that contain pigments.
I heard Flamingos get their colouring from eating krill?
I’ve read that Flamingos get their pink coloring from eating red & blue-green algae and brine shrimp which is a different crustacean than krill.
So, if either bird were underfed, they would be white?
If they don’t eat the algae or brine shrimp, but do still stay well-fed, Flamingos would have white feathers. 😲
WOW.
Sorry, hit enter to fast! Roseate Spoonbills are naturally a very pale pink as juveniles to adulthood, get brighter if eating the right crustaceans and even brighter when in breeding plumage! 🙂
LOL!
Gotcha. Interesting! So, if they are very bright pink, they are in the mood for LOVE! ❤
oh yea!
Love that fabulous pink colour – and the fact that they’re called Roseate and not just Pink Spoonbills.
I so agree! Roseate sounds so much more elegant! 🙂
Amazingly pretty birds and great series!!
Thank you, Indira!
So beautiful!
Thank you, Imorgana!
I can’t get over that particular hue! Lovely!
Thank you, Jane! It’s why we all go gaga over them in the U.S. 🙂
Title this one Donna and the rock stars LOL. Great
😊 I love that title! Thanks Ted!
Oh my goodness! Incredible photos, amazing birds, what a beautiful species!
We are so fortunate to have them dress up our world!
Thank you for your great post Donna
Thank you much, Eddie! Just seeing one pumps anyone’s adrenaline, lol. Yes, we are quite fortunate with theirs and other birds’ beauty! 🙂
Spoonbills always make me smile. Great shots!
Beautiful smile, Belinda! Just something about them….. 🙂
Thanks for continuing your wonderful posts. They do brighten my day! hugs
Thank you, Beth, hugs back at you!
They are just screamingly adorable. They are sort of like the Platypus of the bird world.
I agree on both comments, Vic! 😊
I’m in love.
They are so beautiful and your images are just lovely! I love the ones with the reflections. What a season you’re having!
Thank you, Deborah! I am so thrilled to have gotten this opportunity. Alas, we depart from the Everglades on Wednesday, back to reality. 😦
Oh. 😭 Hopefully, you’ll return next season and have another stellar year of birding there.
At least you have the Osprey’s Bella and Beau to look forward to.
😭 I was going through an accident recovery period from 2016-19, so we rented a place last 1 1/2 yrs where Bella & Beau live so we could be on the water. Home is northwest Baltimore. But now with the pandemic, we’re going to head to our SC RV lot in remote upcountry and hunker down there as long as necessary. Spring is beginning there so that is promising! Although, I think about B&B often, wondering if they both made it back in last two weeks. I was going to go visit them when we got back next month. But it is just too chancy to go back to Maryland where there are a ton of people as well as not get to go see my grandboys….. Thank goodness for facechat! 🙂
I miss my Grandson’s too. I am so grateful for FaceTime!
I bet you’re going to see great birds in SC. Safe journey!
Thank you, Deborah, you stay safe too! And no more tremors!!!!
Thank you, let’s hope! 😀
Agreed!! They’re just irresistible. Beautiful shots, Donna. Looks like they were enjoying themselves. ☺️
Thank you, I do think they were enjoying themselves, sweeping in unison, all so pretty! 🙂
Trying desperately to catch up. Sure glad I didn’t miss these lovelies! They certainly are something special.
Thank you, Gunta, I’m glad you got to see these! I’ve got hundreds of gorgeous photos of so many birds from the past couple months, I’m pumping them out daily at this point! lol 😉
Making it harder for me to keep up, but so happy you’re having such fun!