November 21, 2008

Cigar Mike on Orthinology

Roseate Spoonbill - Sanibel

It's Friday and here's a photo of my favorite bird, the Roseate Spoonbill. (Platalea ajaja). This bird is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It is a mainly resident breeder in South America, the Caribbean, and the Gulf coast of the USA. For those who live in Florida and Louisiana and Mississippi, especially on the Gulf Coast, you are lucky to see these beautiful birds. Many folks mistake them for wild flamingos.

You can also see them in some swamp areas in the tri-county area here in South Florida and in the Everglades, near Flamingo and in Florida Bay.

They are endangered, but hopefully making a comeback since the last set of hurricanes we had down here destroyed many of their breeding areas. So the next time you're at the beach in Fort Myers or St. Pete, or in the Louisiana swamp, and you see one of these, you can show off to all your friends and say, "that's a roseate spoonbill. Thanks Cigar Mike."

Have a great weekend folks.

Posted by Cigar Mike at November 21, 2008 11:00 AM


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