Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
There are six known species of spoonbill, but only the Roseate Spoonbill is found in the New World. Other species are native to Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. DNA analysis in 2010 showed enough genetic variation to justify two genera (Platibis and Ajaia), but because they were morphologically so similar, it made sense to keep them in the single genera Platibis or Platalea.
The specially adapted bill of these birds allows them to feed on prey that other waders miss. By swinging their bills in a side-to-side motion, they can filter invertebrates and other small items from the mud and shallow water, and like flamingos, they get their pink color from the carotenoids in the food they eat.
The Roseate Spoonbill breeds across much of the interior wetlands of South America, but in North America we rarely find them far from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, or the west coast of mainland Mexico. However, in the early fall of 2020 I met this species in Arizona. The bird seems to have blown in from Sinaloa Mexico or Texas with a powerful storm during the previous summer and stayed to entertain the local birding community.

Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: These immature spoonbills approached briefly close enough for decent images. I drove to Aransas NWR late Saturday, but my first serious explorations were on Sunday, when I fell in love with Heron Flats, though my explorations carried me all the way to the "Big Tree" tower. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:15 14:37 |
Location:
Aransas NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D500362-Aransas-NWR |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: These immature spoonbills approached briefly close enough for decent images. I drove to Aransas NWR late Saturday, but my first serious explorations were on Sunday, when I fell in love with Heron Flats, though my explorations carried me all the way to the "Big Tree" tower. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:15 14:38 |
Location:
Aransas NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D500473-Aransas-NWR |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: These immature spoonbills approached briefly close enough for decent images. I drove to Aransas NWR late Saturday, but my first serious explorations were on Sunday, when I fell in love with Heron Flats, though my explorations carried me all the way to the "Big Tree" tower. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:15 14:39 |
Location:
Aransas NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D500524-Aransas-NWR |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: These immature spoonbills approached briefly close enough for decent images. I drove to Aransas NWR late Saturday, but my first serious explorations were on Sunday, when I fell in love with Heron Flats, though my explorations carried me all the way to the "Big Tree" tower. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:15 14:40 |
Location:
Aransas NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D500548-Aransas-NWR |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: I drove to Port Isabel from Brownsville on an errand and found birds like this mixed flock of spoonbills and egrets on the roadside. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:06 11:06 |
Location:
Highway-48 |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill-MixedFlock_D501942-PortIsabel-TX |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: I didn’t meet any breeding Roseate Spoonbills on my 2020 Texas expedition. Juvenile and non-breeders seemed to be all I found. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:30 16:35 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D501335-South-Padre |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: I didn’t meet any breeding Roseate Spoonbills on my 2020 Texas expedition. Juvenile and non-breeders seemed to be all I found. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:30 16:38 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/4000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D501361-South-Padre |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: This lonesome lost spoonbill found its way to Arizona and has delighted birders here all summer. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 14:30 |
Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D5X9621-GilbertWaterRanch |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: This lonesome lost spoonbill found its way to Arizona and has delighted birders here all summer. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 14:19 |
Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D5X9560-GilbertWaterRanch |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: This lonesome lost spoonbill found its way to Arizona and has delighted birders here all summer. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 14:18 |
Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D5X9536-GilbertWaterRanch |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) |
Description: This lonesome lost spoonbill found its way to Arizona and has delighted birders here all summer. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 13:27 |
Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: RoseateSpoonbill_D5X9285-GilbertWaterRanch |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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