Roseate Spoonbill Spotting in Huntington Beach State Park, SC

Just to give you an idea why Marianne R. and I are so excited about spotting this bird at Huntington Beach State Park on August 11, 2009 I copied this paragraph from The Modern Naturalist Blog.  I hope you take a few minutes and see much better photos of this pretty bird than what I was able to capture, even after taking at least thirty photos, as you can see, I wasn't really able to get anything very good.  They were far off in the distance and I had to use my telephoto lens.  Even with the extra lens I wasn't able to do very well.

"The rash of unexpected Roseate Spoonbill sightings this summer has been a treat for birders up and down the east coast.  While northward movement of juveniles during post-breeding dispersal is known for the species, the numbers of birds involved and the extent of the northward movement this season is impressive.

According to the Birds of North America species account, spoonbills, “especially immatures, occasionally disperse great distances, but seasonal patterns of movement are poorly understood” (Dumas 2000).  In past years, the occasional individual has appeared as far north as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.  Spoonbills regularly disperse in small numbers along the gulf coast in the states of Alabama and Mississippi, and north along the Atlantic coast to Georgia.  In 1972, a large movement of immatures occurred as far inland as Tennessee.  This summer, spoonbills have appeared in many eastern states, including Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey."

So, you can see, we were really excited to see them.  Their distinctive pink stands out in the crowd as they mingle with the heron, wood-storks and other birds that gather here at Huntington Beach State Park.  Also, of all the pictures I have, I don't think there is one where they are facing us or even a with a side view.  I wish I could get a good photo, and believe me I'm going to keep trying.

Here you can see how much smaller they are than the other birds.

This next one shows the spoonbill pretty good.

I think this next one is the best.  I'm going to try to crop it and see if it come out better.

I hope to see them again on my next visit and get much better photos.