Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

I saw my first Roseate Spoonbills after moving here to Florida.  At first I'd only seen them in the distance, perched on the tops of dead trees.  But at Merritt Island, I was able to see them up close.  They're beautiful birds, but when they fly in to land, they look extremely clumsy,  like they're going to knock over all the birds around them.  I love to watch them feed.  I see them frequently with egrets, and while they're standing there patiently, the spoonbills are walking around with the beaks in the water, constantly looking for food.

Roseate Spoonbill with White Ibis and Great Egrets

And I find this humorous:  we birders call Spoonbills "Spoonies," and of course a group of them together are, you guessed it, a "bowl."  So the next time you see a group of them, you have to say, "Hey look! A bowl of Spoonies."  It's required.

Roseate Spoonbill