Spoonbill surprise

I could not believe my eyes. Could not. I was at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, walking on the board walk crossing the small lake when two pink-looking birds caught my eye. I squinted to see the shape of their bills. Sure enough. There were Roseate Spoonbills. Also See this compilation of photos.

I hadn't see any of them around here and thought they were pretty much confined to Texas or certainly closer to the coast. It is because of the chemicals they get from eating crustaceans that they get the rosy and sometimes orangish color.

I quickly set up my tripod and started shooting. See that branch hanging down and hiding part of the top one's bill? Most of the time it was hiding all of his bill. I finally got this shot that lets you see why they are called Spoonbills. The light shade of pink feathers and the pink on the bills suggest that these are juvenile birds. So mom and dad must be somewhere around.

They sat very still and allowed me to shoot my photos, although at a range that was just barely in my camera's range. At one point they even stood on one leg and both put their heads and necks back over their bodies for a rest.

--steve buser