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.

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.

Roseate Spoonbill

 The roseate spoonbill is one of six species of spoonbills found around the world. They are all a part of the Threskkiornithidae family which also includes ibises. According to DNA studies the roseate spoonbill, which is the only spoonbill in the Americas is most closely related to the yellow-billed spoonbill that is found in southeast Australia. It is believed that these two species evolved from a common offshoot of the ancestors of the other four species.

The roseate spoonbill is found primarily in tropical regions of South America and the Caribbean. There are also small numbers of this species that breed in North America. The North America birds breed along the Gulf Coast in southern Texas, Florida, and Louisiana. They seem to prefer fresh water habitats but are also found in coastal saltwater areas. They swing their odd shaped beak from side to side to sift through the water and silt on the bottom and forage for crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, and small fish. Their food provides the carotenoid pigments which give the birds their pinkish coloration.

Tuesday Tweets

Roseate spoonbills are the only species of spoonbill found in North America. While most of the population is found in South America there are small breeding populations in coastal regions of Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and around the gulf coast in the United States. They can be found in freshwater or saltwater wet lands, where they move their head from side to side and use their spoon shaped bill to sift through the water and mud looking for small fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans.

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Roseate Spoonbill

Perhaps the most unusual looking bird in North America is the roseate spoonbill. These large pink wading bird get their common name from their unique shaped beak. They use their "spoon bill" to sift for food, swinging it from side to side as they wade through the shallow water. They eat small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, amphibians, and some aquatic vegetation. The bulk of the roseate spoonbill population is found in Central and South America. In North America they are pretty much limited to the Gulf Coast.
In the United States they are found mainly in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. In the early parts of the 20th century the roseate spoonbill was hunted for its beautiful pink feathers which were used primarily for women's hats and fans. At one point the Florida population, which is the largest in the US, fell to less then 50 nesting pairs. With the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and other legislation the population has rebounded and there is now estimated to be over 1000 nesting pair in Florida. In Texas and Louisiana the roseate spoonbills nest on the ground on small coastal islands, in Florida they nest on mangrove trees. These islands nest are endangered by coastal development, oil and other contaminant spills, as well as ground based predators that can reach the islands. Leaving the Texas and Louisiana populations at risk.

Roseate Spoonbill

The origin of birds is still some what of a mystery. One theory, that is debated among the evolutionary biology community, is that birds evolved from dinosaurs. I am not smart enough to tell you if this theory is wrong or right, I will leave the debate up to the experts, but there are some birds that do make you say hmmmmm. One such bird is the roseate spoonbill. This bird is equipped with an unique prehistoric looking bill. It uses this bill to catch its prey, swinging it back and forth through the water until it feels a fish, crustacean, or other aquatic prey and then quickly snapping it shut. In the U.S. spoonbills are only found in the gulf region, I photographed this one in Texas, but they are more common in the eastern portions of South America.

South Padre Island Birding and Center

On our second full day in Texas we decided to visit the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center which is located on South Padre Island near the Convention Center. This is a pretty new park and facility which is associated with the World Birding Center. The center focus of the park is the visitors center which is loaded with interactive exhibits, auditoriums, classrooms, gift shop and topped off with a five story observation tower. The tower provides a great view of the entire park as well as parts of the island and the Laguna Madre. Just be careful or you might find yourself stuck like I did. I decided to go out on the balcony to get a better look only to find that no one had unlocked the doors yet, we got there right at opening, and so the door locked behind me. Thank goodness Michelle finally rescued me.

The park consists of 43 acres of various types of habitat including freshwater ponds, island scrub brush, brackish and saltwater marshes. Winding through the different habitats there is 4800 linear feet of boardwalks and paths as well as 7 different blinds.

The main subjects to photograph here were waterfowl and wading birds. We spotted six different types of herons and egrets, including the great egret, snowy egret, reddish egret, great blue heron, tricolored heron and the little blue heron, which is pictured above.

They were also some wading birds that we do not often get to see here in Minnesota such as the black-legged stilt, white ibis, endangered brown pelican, and the roseate spoonbill, which is pictured above. We were excited about the spoonbills, even though we have seen them on most of our trips to Florida, because this was the closest that we have ever been able to get to these spectacular birds.

Besides the waterfowl and waders there were also quite a few shorebirds including log-billed curlew, American wimbrel, least and semipalmated sandpiper.

However this park is not just for the birds. We spotted this turtle, which I believe is a red-eared slider swimming around one of the fresh water ponds. Red-eared sliders are often used as pets.

There were also a few predators hanging out in the park. At one point a northern harrier, sometimes referred to as a marsh hawk, flew lowly over the grass in search of prey and in the water there was an even larger predator. The American alligator often floats motionless on the top of the water, looking a lot like an old log, waiting for prey to get close enough where it can spring its trap.

Florida Roseate Spoonbill

One of the more colorful and popular birds that we have seen in our travels to Florida is the roseate spoonbill.
Spoonbills are found through out the Gulf of Mexico, Central and South America and the West Indies. In Florida we have seen these birds at the Everglades National Park, Merritt Island, and Ding Darling NWR, where these photographs were taken.
It is obvious where the spoonbill gets its name from. They use their long flat bill to stir up the water helping them to find he small invertebrates, fish, and crustaceans which they eat.

The feathers of the spoonbill become much more pink as they age, being mostly white when they are young. It is possible that a diet rich in shrimp, that feed on algae which produce red and yellow pigments called carotenoids, is what gives them their color.