Vibrant colours of a roseate spoonbill FLORIDA STRIKING images show Spoonbills splashing water and flapping their vibrant wings to dry themselves.
Vibrant colours of a roseate spoonbill FLORIDA STRIKING images show Spoonbills splashing water and flapping their vibrant wings to dry themselves. This flamboyant bird looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with its bright pink feathers, red eye staring out from a partly bald head, and giant spoon-shaped bill. These social birds nest and roost in trees and shrubs with other large wading birds. Males and females are about the same size; the males may be slightly larger. They can initially be aggressive towards each other with bill clattering and mock fights. These images were taken by a 41-year-old Bird photographer, Steven Blandin, at Tampa Bay from a distance of 100 feet using a Canon 1D-X camera and a 600mm f/4 lens coupled with a extender. ?These birds are the most sought-after in Florida. They almost went extinct during the height of the feather trade about a century ago, which would have been a huge loss to the wildlife ecosystem,? he said. ?But now the birds create a surreal scene with beautiful luminescence on the feathers. ?There were about a dozen more spoonbills in the area, but just these were in the water, so I focused upon ENDS
Size: 4000px × 2667px
Photo credit: © Media Drum World / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: birds, florida, large, roseate, spoonbill, spoonbills, wild, wildlife
