roseate spoonbill

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis fulgens), Roseate Spoonbills (Ajaja ajaja) Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus mexicanus).

Couple of these around

Shot in December a couple years back, I look forward to one of my favorite birds to photograph - the Roseate Spoonbills -coming back to my area soon!

I never saw more than one at a time this winter.

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

and a much closer viewing than my first. I'm not sure why this one was on his own, tucked away in a quiet corner. There was a whole "bouquet" of them on a sandbar in the next lagune. Perhaps this one didn't feel welcome among them ...? And, is "bouquet" the collective word...

When I got back to my room after breakfast, I opened the curtains as I packed for the day's outings, and ... oh my! There was my one target bird for the trip, right in my own back yard!

We saw very few of these birds last winter.

Roseate spoonbill

This was the only one in the area, and I had to sneak a peek through the bushes.

Taken along the Marsh Trail south of Naples, fl.

A Roseate Spoonbill seen along the Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). High Island, Galveston County, Texas, USA. Houston Audubon Society, Smith Oaks, Claybottom Pond. A mixed species rookery along the southern edge of the pond. Gulf Coast and Prairies Vegetational Area at ca. 16 m (52 ft) elevation.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) Adult, sexes similar. Joan and Scott Holt Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Aransas County, Texas, USA. Gulf Prairies and Marshes Vegetational Zone. Barrier Island, freshwater pond and marsh surrounded by black willow and buttonbush. The surrounding area that is not...

I have not posted in a while, here's one from yesterday.

A Reddish Egret and Roseate Spoonbill foraging together at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Don't see that every day!

This is why the locals call this part of Big Talbot Island State Park "Spoonbill Pond". We have had little rain in the past months so it's a bit dry right now.

A Roseate Spoonbill at Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, Florida.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) High Island, Galveston County, Texas, USA. Houston Audubons Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary, Heron Island in Clay Bottom Pond (Rookery). Pond surrounded by coastal woods within the Coastal Marshes and Prairies Vegetational Area at 10.7 m (35 ft) elevation.

A fly bye at the Marsh Trail, south of Naples, Florida.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) High Island, Galveston County, Texas, USA. Houston Audubons Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary, Heron Island in Clay Bottom Pond (Rookery). Pond surrounded by coastal woods within the Coastal Marshes and Prairies Vegetational Area at 10.7 m (35 ft) elevation.

great late-afternoon wetland birding in Los Llanos: spoonbills, ,wood storks, skimmers, scarlet ibis.....doesnt get any better