Pretty In Pink, The Roseate Spoonbill

September 27, 2012 at 2:35 am | Posted in Creature Feature | Leave a comment
Tags: Endangered Species, Loxahatchee, Pink Feathers, Roseate Spoonbill

It’s not every day I see a beautiful pink bird, but every so often Mother Nature is kind enough to surprise me with the presence of a Roseate Spoonbill. I’ve seen them most flying over the Everglades while driving across Alligator Alley, and on occasion I’ve seen them at Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach, but this one in particular I happened upon in Loxahatchee.

 

Often confused with a Flamingo, the Roseate Spoonbill is smaller than it’s pink cousin with a distinctive spoon shaped beak. (Hey, is that how they get their name?!) They get their pink pigment the same way Flamingo’s do, through their diet. Once hunted to near extinction in the 1800’s for their beautiful pink plumes, the Spoonbill population is on the rise thanks to the protection it recieved while on The Endangered Species List. Though it has been removed from the Federal list, it is still considered a speciec of concern in Florida. Habitat loss is it’s biggest threat now. This delicate bird is also a great indication of the health of the environment it lives in. I can only hope that the more often I see the uncommon bird, the better the environment is doing, and that there is a chance out children can enjoy creatures like this for years to come.

Photos taken with my Nikon D3100