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04 July 2008

think pink

I'm always tickled pink when the Roseate Spoonbills come back to our area. This beautiful creature was feeding furiously down at St Marks NWR the other day.




He tried his best to mind his own business and stayed out of the neighbourhood squabbles.



For the most part, he avoided trouble. But every now and then, he'd wander too close to the Black-necked Stilts' nesting zone and the stilt would leap-frog over him till he wandered out of the way. (I had stooped to shoot someething else and missed that action, DRAT!)




I waited and waited, but he didn't wander back into the stilt zone and never ventured closer than about 250-300 feet from my perch on the Stoney Bayou levee.


A bit further down the road, at Picnic Pond, a pod of pelicans paraded, pooling prowess, precisely pushing piscatorial prey pouchward...



The Pelican Brief:

  • The American White Pelican is one of the largest boreal birds. They can weigh as much as 30 pounds and their wing spans can exceed nine feet.
  • The bill can hold 3 gallons of water, and after the fish have been caught the bill is pointed downward allowing the water to drain, and then the bill is raised and the bird swallows.
  • A group of pelicans has many collective nouns, including a "brief", "pod", "pouch", "scoop", and "squadron" of pelicans.

4 comments:

cedrorum said...

Great pictures. The roseate spoonbill is one of my favorite birds, and I don't have it on my life list :( I guess that is one to look forward to though.

Anonymous said...

Cool! Spoonbills must be one of everyone's favorite birds. Nice shot of the squawking snowy. Love those blackies, too!

Pelican brief... hahaha! I love to see a group (whatever it's called) of white pels flying over... awesome sight!

SophieMae said...

Cedrorum, you need a vacation... a FL vacation. 8-]

Jena, I think you're right. And I agree about the pelicans, as well. Never get too much of either.

Steve said...

Wow! Any place with Roseatte Spoonbills and Black-necked Stilts and A. White Pelicans could hold my attention all day long.