It’s always a thrill to spot a ROSEATE SPOONBILL with its bright pink feathers and its aptly named bill that looks like a wooden kitchen spoon.
As soon as we drive over the Sanibel causeway at low tide to get to the Fort Myers side, we look to the water on the right to see if the ROSEATE SPOONBILLS are feeding. They were there this past weekend! I took a few minutes to capture them with my camera lens.
I even caught them phooning…
They feed by swinging their head back and forth sweeping their bill in the water feeling for fish, insects, crustaceans and a few water plants. When they feel the right food, they snap it up.
You can see it for yourself! I made a video for you to see these beautiful ROSEATE SPOONBILLS and the IBIS birds they hang out with.
Great pics!! We missed them last year as they weren’t in yet. Love to see them. Who can’t love a pink bird?? We are looking forward to the white pelicans early arrival as well.
This is a great way to start the morning! Thanks, Pam!
Those birds are beautiful – I dont think I’ve ever seen one when I’ve been there. I love the shore birds!!
You are killing me!!! I want to be there to see it for myself. Fall has arrived here at home with cooler days and leaves turning colors. I am truly not a winter person and fall just means winter and cold weather is on it’s way. All I want is warm weather and ocean breezes and shells and pink birds and Sanibel!!! The pictures are lovely but they make me homesick for Sanibel (homesick in that I wish I was there!).
Great video! We’ve only seen these in January when they’re just sitting in the trees, so this is wonderful to watch! Thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous! I loved the ending when they flew high into the beautiful Florida (Sanibel Island) sky …… ahhhhhhh.. Great start to a pretty day here in SC. Love the fall yall :)
Awesome! I loved the end when the spoonbill flew over the water and you could see a complete reflection of his wings in the water! Just beautiful! Just made reservations for December! Counting the days!!
Do you suppose there are any shells in those areas? Just curious. Thanks for the vid!
Christine, that intertidal mud flat is loaded with mollusks. There are many bivalves/clams and almost as many gastropods/snails, most of which will be alive. This is the ideal habitat for Kings Crowns, Lightning Whelks and Pear whelks with occasional Horse Conchs and Fighting Conchs. There are many other, smaller mollusks/shells. It is a fascinating place to visit and see all the marine invertebrates and other wildlife.
However, one disclaimer is necessary. It is called a mud flat because there are variable amounts of mud/muck and sand. On occasion shell collectors looking for that extra special shell have reported sinking up to their knees and/or higher and sometimes loosing their footwear in the muck. Such events are usually associated with transient, but significant anxiety and give new meaning to the phrase “that shell is to die for”. Although I have never heard of a shell collector dying while collecting on a mud flat, that “sinking feeling” is something that most shell collectors would prefer to avoid. ;~)
Yes, yes, Ken I can understand the disclaimer…can one hope that some shells might “migrate” closer to shore? I do not relish the idea of sinking into the mud. Got stuck in the snow once as a kid and I am well acquainted with that feeling. Do not want to repeat the experience, LOL!
I find Sanibel and Captiva fascinating with regards to its abundance of wildlife and especially the SHELLS!!!!! Can’t wait to return. Thanks for your wisdom and educational info.
Beautiful video…I have never seen one of these birds before! So pretty in flight…thanks for the video.
They are so pretty! Just one more thing to love about Sanibel!
How beautiful Pam! Thanks so much. What amazing birds!
WOW! One more beautiful thing to chalk up to Sanibel! Thanks for the wonderful video — the bird flying off so majestically was awesome! Perfect music for the occasion as well. Thanks, Pam!!!
Beautiful just like Sanibel and Captiva!
Beeauuutiful birds & awesome video!!!!!!!!!!!
My favorite FL bird! Just beautiful, breathtaking photos and video! Thanks so much!
fOR mE~ IN 28 years of coming to Naples/ Sanibel, the Roseate Spoonbill has been a rare sight. Living in Illinois, I am so in LOVE with all the tropical birds, but the Roseate Spoonbill is my favorite! I have NEVER caught such BEAUTIFUL pictures of these birds, and will cherich the video you made forever!
Thanks so much for posting this…I needed this here in the chilly north!! Love, Love, Love those birds!! Great job with the video too!! If you get a chance…go on over to my blog and see if you know what the shell is I found in my collection of minis!! Maybe Murex Ken would know?? Shelllady.blogspot.com
Thanks again for sharing…what a great thing to see in the “fall”!!
Cheri, your small shell is a relatively uncommon one for Sanibel Island. It is a Simnia, which is a member of the Ovulid family. These shells live on Sea-whips. Since you found the shell on Sanibel Island, it most probably is the One-tooth Simnia (aka Simnialena uniplicata). In my next “reply” I will give a hyperlink to the picture on the BMSM website. Hope this helps.
Here’s the BMSM website hyperlink that shows the pictures, http://shellmuseum.org/shells/shelldetails.cfm?id=54
Thanks so much MurexKen!! I knew you would come through for me…once again!!
Great website, my 4th grade reading students loved the video.
WOW!!!!!
Y’all are fantastic! Pam, I really did LOL at the spoonbills phooning & got the weirdest look from the hub. I’ve only seen one spoonbill in the backwaters of Bradenton while I was visiting. The ibis are cool critters and I do get to see them daily in Weeki Wachee. Heck, I’m easily fascinated with the great blue herons & can’t believe how hard it is sometimes to tell if they’re breathing or statuary.
Murex Ken, I always appreciate your input and knowledge identifying the corpus shellecti.
Cheri, looks like you’ve found the treasure of the day!
I think it was a month or so ago that an elderly woman had become disoriented and was missing over a day when someone heard her cries for help. She was stuck in the mud up to her neck in mangrove roots. This may have been Manatee County. It took several hours to extricate her.
~m
Yikes! That would be terrible to feeling to be stuck in that muck up to your neck. ugh- terrible!
i rely like the pic of the roseate spoonbill :)