Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville Florida

The last time Sally was with me for the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville Florida, was one of the rare years when the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge was host to huge numbers of Roseate Spoonbills, all in full breeding plumage, and most very close to the Black Point Wildlife Drive for excellent photo opps. This year was not one of those years. We saw very few Spoonbills, and those we saw were distant…except for two who had joined a mixed species feeding frenzy at a pool fool of freshly hatched shrimp. Both of the Spoonbills there were female, and maybe even immature, as there was no sign of breeding plumage and the “rose” was not nearly as bright as I have seen it. Still, Roseates are impressive whenever you see them. This one literally never raised its head the whole time we spent at the pool…too busy straining shrimp soup. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/800th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

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