Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Roseate Spoonbill

 Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill is a large colorful wading bird that is found in wetland in the coastal Gulf Coast, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and parts of South America. In the United States they are found in Southern Florida, and the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. In the early 1900's these birds had been nearly eliminated from the U.S. due to the feather trade, which killed birds for feathers that were used for fans, hats, and clothes. In south Florida there were less than 50 breeding pairs left.
Roseate Spoonbill
With the Migratory Bird Act of 1918 most native species of birds in North America were given protection. Populations of roseate spoonbills began to rise again in the United States. In southern Florida spoonbills typically nest in mangrove trees. However in Texas and Louisiana most spoonbills nest on the ground on small off shore islands. The islands help protect their nests from predators who do not want to cross the water. Unfortunately their reliance on these island nesting sites make them susceptible to habitat loss, due to coastal development, and environmental factors such as huricanes and oil spills.


12 comments:

Adam Jones said...

Lovely post and great pictures.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Stunning images of this Spoonbill.

CountryMouse said...

Very interesting and I love the colour of this spoonbill, that front on shot is pretty amazing.

Roger Owen Green said...

love that bird!

ROG, ABCW

KristiBowmanDesign said...

These are such great birds and you've captured them beautifullly!! I look forward to seeing them one day in the feather!

Latane Barton said...

pretty bird but that bill looks dangerous. All the better to catch food with I am sure.

Trubes said...

What an amazing looking bird, we saw some of them on a trip to Florida, many years ago.
Great shots too!
Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.

Nette Cecilia said...

Lovley post ,Nette

Berowne said...

Who knew birds drool..?

A Colorful World said...

Glad their numbers are on the rise! Beautiful photos...in the second one, he looks like he's smiling!

Obsessivemom said...

That bill is extraordinary. Its colour is a lot like that of the flamingos which I've seen.

BumbleVee said...

there you have it ..... look beautiful and somebody wants to kill you....... although, I think it's the same if you look too ugly as well.... can't win......

so pretty in pink...........