Pink in Nature 💗: the Roseate Spoonbill

One of my favorite birds in Florida is the Roseate Spoonbill. This time of year, during the breeding season, it is absolutely awesome to watch them! I visit the rookery located at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm often! Last week, on my last visit, I saw a lot of nest-building going on. It is such an exciting time in the rookery from February through June. There are other species of native birds that nest there as well including Wood Storks, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, and sometimes even other birds such as Anhinga.

Who can resist that beautiful pink color? Sometimes visitors at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm will mistake them for flamingos. I try to politely correct them because roseate spoonbills are awesome birds and deserve the recognition.

They always seem to make the perfect photo subject … I often take hundreds of photos of them in just an hour or two!

I love to get photos of them splashing around, either eating or taking a bath, like some of the photos I have shared. Their beauty just amazes me! I love the reflection in the photo above.

The photo above was taken just last week. This spoonbill was preening … they do that a lot, lol. I love the contrast in colors in the photo. This photo definitely looks like a spring photo. The weather here has been gorgeous (mostly) … spring is definitely in the air! And we have the pollen to prove it!

Sometimes when spoonbills lift their wings in just the right way, the shape resembles a heart, like in the photo above. I call this one Mr. Valentine spoonie. 💗

Make sure to always look up … especially at the rookery, you might just see something beautiful like the photo above. This roseate spoonbill flew over and I was able to quickly snap a photo. So beautiful! You might also want to look up and watch where you stand for another reason as well … lol. Yes, I have been pooped on in the rookery on a few occasions, lol.

Spoonbills are simply beautiful and simply fun to watch! If you ever visit Florida in the late winter, spring, early summer and your in the St. Augustine area, I highly recommend visiting the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. The action in the bird rookery area with all the nesting birds is simply amazing! I will share more photos in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned and follow along.

If you like my photos, follow me on Instagram or Facebook to see more! You can purchase photos in my shop. This week, Valentine’s week, I am having a SALE, 10% off everything! Thanks for looking at my post, Happy Valentine’s! 💖 ~Kristina