Last night I returned home from a trip to the east coast of Central Florida. During my time there I visited
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and
Canaveral National Seashore, two very special places. Along Black Point Wildlife Drive, I was able to photograph the unusual-looking bird I was most hoping to catch a glimpse of...the
Roseate Spoonbill.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6BQKbBbnSEyWzc_nJHwSe1fsQ839887kmaKmYBixjIdH653D7HiSbHco8zLOKAF1aq9XR48EwnJUMLrUGanclSKW6TyL2CCsuUPkh0ag6ku41r_D4BFgJp9zP33v24KB7oUD/s400/BIG-3-1-09-4.jpg)
Hunted for their beautiful feathers in the 1800's, the Roseate Spoonbills nearly became extinct by the early 1900's. You can easily see how this bird with a built-in eating utensil got its name.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdQC6_laK96v5f08-zfVTtLa34qMqCqjOHkHcSxvjLxxj8H7CjDi-WI381KvPlkc4coN-A_a1xMvD5rwrjp9wnKQH6EnW929ez5NMgN3-P8c0WZkqrwUwycVddj1T23dp-DUE/s400/BIG-3-1-09-3.jpg)
Interesting fact I discovered: a group of spoonbills are known as a "bowl".
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXpO7POdcPY2ca2mQpguEFx4noncmwpxXa6GVOKr6EzO0ZZjx4wwCgn_-WRoFw0k6ScA6bPAPcAO4vRucEdjIcXzj-IMlEX7xrm_nPfvyXSbaFt6i4Vghit4ROyKLrWslLDZ2/s400/BIG-3-1-09-2.jpg)
Coming in for a landing.
4 comments:
Beautiful! You take such great pix! I so enjoy your site!
Robin
Thank you, Robin.
As I said in this post, I just got back last night. It was very difficult being without a computer for several days, but I surely enjoyed visiting some of the many state and national parks along the central Atlantic Coast.
Thanks for your other comments while I was gone. The tracks in the earlier post were indeed a raccoon!
DJ
Awesome pictures and those birds are absolutely beautiful!! I used to live close to Merritt Island in Satellite Beach! But never got to see these!
While I would not want to live anywhere but here on my beautiful island, I definitely appreciate the parks, wildlife refuge, and history of the Atlantic coast.
Folks who live anywhere near Merritt Island have a host of interesting places to visit and appreciate nature.
I also enjoyed a stop in St. Augustine on the way back and loved it -- except for the crowd. I managed to hit it during the beginning of Bike Week! Ha!
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