Spoonbills Have Arrived!

We heard that possibly two spoonbills were spotted in various areas around the marsh about two weeks ago. Despite staking out likely areas on several occasions neither was seen. Until…this past weekend when I looked out across the salt marsh and spotted something in the sky that could maybe, just maybe, be them. It was! Turned out that one mature bird was flying in with a juvenile. The pair landed in the salt marsh during low tide right in front of us and proceeded to feed on the numerous small fish and shrimp that were seemingly everywhere. It was great to see these pink visitors really light up the place with color. Of course, besides the standard group of snowys and one blue heron, it was no surprise that an alligator felt compelled, as usual, to be involved in the scene. But the gator just ended up making the entire event even more fun!

6 thoughts on “Spoonbills Have Arrived!”

  3. These are fabulous photos. It did surprise me that you apparently don’t have spoonbills all year round, or at least most of the year. There are times when our numbers increase significantly, but a glance at my archives shows photos at our local refuges in November and January, as well as the spring and summer months. I wonder if being closer to south Texas and Mexico might have something to do with that. In any event, they’re among my favorite birds: funny and colorful.

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    • The funny thing is 20 years ago we didn’t have spoonbills at all. Then one day a few showed up and surprised everyone. After that, they arrived regularly but at first not until early July and they would stay until maybe November. For the past several years they began showing up earlier and stayed later but be gone by winter. We suspect they have begun nesting way back in the swamp along with the egrets, ibis, green herons, night herons and anhingas. Surprisingly to many people, birds like these will often build nests right above where alligators live, letting the alligators act as security to hopefully keep pests and predators such as raccoons away from their bird’s nests.

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  4. Such beautiful birds, Phil! They were hunted to extinction here in the uk around 1668 but since 2010 have begun to breed again in a few places. I saw them in Cornwall one year and as Lucy is living there now, I hope to see them again. The 6th photo shows that endearing face to perfection! Great photos!

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  5. Oh my goodness, these are MAGICAL shots!! But, hey! What about the gator? Looked like the Spoonbills didn’t mind him a bit 🙂

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