Roseate Spoonbill

The Roseate Spoonbill, with its vibrant pink plumage and signature flat, spoon-shaped bill, is one of Florida's most striking wading birds. When I first saw them, I thought they were some type of Flamingo. Their diet is similar to the Flamingo, high in carotenoids, natural organic pigments found in the crustaceans, such as shrimp and crayfish, that they eat. In Central Florida you can easily spot these beautiful birds foraging in shallow fresh or coastal waters, sifting through mud for crustaceans and insects. These photos were taken at Orlando Wetlands, about 35 miles east of Orlando, in Christmas, Florida, an excellent place to observe large water birds. The Spoonbills nest there in the spring, in the trees and shallow marshes.