Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Roseate Spoonbills

After a walking tour through Rip Van Winkle Gardens in Jefferson Island, Louisiana, I was sure to visit Rip's Rookery.  The five man-made islands and four ponds that comprise the rookery is a magnet for breeding Roseate Spoonbills, Egrets, White Ibises and Herons.  Thousands of these birds make the rookery their home from spring into fall.

During the time of my visit, the Roseate Spoonbills were the most plentiful birds seen.  Scores of them were either roosting in treetops, preening or wading in shallow areas of the pond.  A narrow path runs alongside the water's edge, but since the rookery is surrounded by water, distance was a factor in getting close-up images of the birds.  

Roseate Spoonbills feed in shallow waters, walking forward slowly while they swing their heads from side to side, sifting the muck with their wide flat bills.  Diet is mostly small fish such as minnows; also shrimp, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects (especially beetles), mollusks and slugs. They also consume some plant material, including roots and stems of sedges.

These birds nest in colonies. At the beginning of breeding season, the entire flock may suddenly fly up, for no apparent reason, and circle the area. In courtship, male and female first interact aggressively and later perch close together, present sticks to each other and cross and clasp bills. In the U.S., they are most often seen in coastal Florida, Texas, and southwest Louisiana.  


I hope you enjoyed the photos and information on the Roseate Spoonbills.   Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to return to the area in a few weeks and capture some photos of their nestlings.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Linked with Stewart at Paying Ready Attention for Wild Bird Wednesday


9 comments:

  1. Hello, the spoonbills are beautiful. Wonderful series of photos. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!

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  2. they are one of my favs. Storks, Sandhills...oh...I better not start on this list....

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  3. Gosh!!! I have seen these birds but I would love to have the sightings you have had. That's pretty incredible. Beautiful photos!

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  4. Such an unusual and such a colourful bird!

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  5. The color of these birds are so incredible!

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  6. How fun! I've only seen these flying overhead when I'm down in FL. Unfortunately never when I have my camera in hand.

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  7. The colour of those birds is remarkable - I'd love to see some.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  8. Pretty birds. The bill and the colour are really special.

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