Subscribe

RSS Feed (xml)

Powered By

Skin Design:
Free Blogger Skins

Powered by Blogger

12 October 2007

Think pink

A few days ago, I hit Bottoms Road at just the right time, one hour before high tide. Just up from the boat ramp, I spotted a sea of white. 50+ Wood Storks stood in one of the last shallow spots. As if that wasn't cool enough, there was one bright pink spot moving around amongst them. I'm always so tickled to see Roseate Spoonbills. There have been several sightings in the refuge this year, but they've always been too far out for any decent shots. This one was about half the distance. Still too far for shot of the week, but good enough for the family album. I took way too many pics, then pulled myself away and drove on down to the end of the road.





Turning around and starting back, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist shooting a few more from another angle. Apparently, the spoonbill had had enough. He saw me coming and decided it was time to move on.

So I contented myself with a few feeble attempts at capturing the American Avocet that simply refused to come out and play.


All in all, it was a pretty dawgawned great birding day. The kind that satisfies, yet leaves you wanting more. 8-}

Y'all have a great weekend. And keep looking up! ^i^

10 comments:

Meems said...

"The kind that satisfies, yet leaves you wanting more."
...perfect description of how it feels.

i can't recall ever seeing a roseate except in my birding books... they are unique creatures.i can imagine your excitement.

i think your shot of the week (or was that last week?) was the great blue. keep having fun and i'll keep enjoying ALL your adventures and photos.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic shots, and two of my favorites. Thanks for sharing. I've never seen a roseate up here.

Peggy said...

I am SO jealous!! I have never seen a roseate spoonbill in the wild, only at animal parks. A friend of mine saw several last year at St. Marks NWR so I went the next day and spent a very long time there...no luck. Maybe this year. Lucky you--and great photos of it!

Anonymous said...

I think I need to have a spoonbill party and invite you all down here. If you want to get your fill of them, come to Terra Ceia Bay on the west coast south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and St. Petersburg. Just one of the many reasons, our island's name means Heavenly Land!

Steve said...

Hello, Sophie. Congrats on the spoonbill...very cool bird! And the American Avocet made me exclaim out loud when it scrolled up. That is one of my favorite birds, one about which I have been wanting to write for many years, but the words aren't adequate yet. Great picture.

Steve said...

Another good place for Roseatte Spoonbills is Merritt Island NWR. I have some pictures of them from a stop there two winters ago.

SophieMae said...

Meems, you can find spoonbills, down there year-round. Head over to Pasco and/or Pinellas County and check out the coastal marsh areas. Strauber Memorial Highway, Dunedin Causeway, Green Key in NPR... We've also seen them on the Bayway in St Pete, on the way to Fort DeSoto.

RCWB, you need to take a little southerly jaunt and find yourself some spoonbills!

Peggy, I saw the spoonbills at the refuge a few times, but always WAY out across the other end of the universe. If I hear any more reports in the area, I'll let you know.

Cathy, what a blessing to live in such a wonderful place! I sometimes miss Marco for that very reason. We saw frigatebirds fairly regularly. Up here, they're a rare treat, indeed.

Steve, I also exclaim out loud whenever I see an Avocet! I'm particularly fond of shorebirds and waders and the avocets are definitely near the top of my list of faves. Looking forward to your inspirational writing about them.

I've been wanting to get down to MINWR. Maybe now that my wheels don't eat so much, I'll do that soonly. 8-]

Peggy said...

Thanks for all the spoonbill thoughts on my blog comments area! I know where Mashes Sands is. I don't often get out that way often these days. I'm heading to St. Andrews SP near Panama City next week to camp, maybe I will get lucky around there (come to think of it, I don't get to saltwater all that often. I'm trying to change that). I'll keep looking....

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

Nice! I love spoonbills! I was a little confused when I saw the first picture...He didn't look like a spoonbill, but he just had his head cocked sidways. They're unique little fellas!

SophieMae said...

Peggy, I hope your camping trip leads you to all sorts of wonders. I made a quick run down Bottoms Road this morning and spotted 5 spoonbills flying! Unfortunately, it was low tide, so they had many inaccessible places to come down. I might just have to go back down there this evening.

HurTeen, I did a double-take myownself when I uploaded that picture. I was glad to have one that showed off that wondermous bill. 8-]