It is always a thrill to see a Roseate Spoonbill in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area. There is small a population of these birds that spends the summer in and around the metroplex—usually in our most remote locations. This first year juvenile has made a very early arrival. He was very tolerant of our observations and allowed a relatively close approach for photographs. Hopefully, he is an indicator of a summer full of good and plentiful spoonbill sightings.
Observation Details
| County | – | Dallas | |
| City | – | Seagoville | |
| Date | – | Apr 21, 2013 | |
| Time of Day | – | Afternoon | |
| Temperature | – | Cool (50-69°F/10-21°C) | |
| Weather | – | Partly Cloudy | |
| Habitat | – | Water-Bog/Marsh/Swamp | |
| Type of Behavior | – | Roaming | |
| Gender | – | Uncertain | |
| Maturity | – | Juvenile | |
| Observer | – | Chris Jackson | |
| Main Article | – | Roseate Spoonbill | Observation Location |
Lovely photos. Where exactly are these? I’d love to get out there with my new lens, and do some shooting.
John Bunker Sands Wetland Center: http://www.wetlandcenter.com/
Thanks! I’m a regular visitor to the VC Drying Beds, and I have never seen these out there. (I live very close to VC.)
There have been a few reports of spoonbills at the VCDB over the years: http://www.audubondallas.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1198&highlight=VCDB+Roseate+Spoonbill
Not much water left out there now… that may discourage the big wading birds a bit. We could use some rain!
Nice photos. The Short-billed Dowitchers in photo six are a nice touch, too. At least I think they are Short-billed Dowitchers and not Long-billed Dowitchers. The two are hard to distinguish when not together.
Yep the Dowitchers are hard, which is why I did not mention them. I have heard that the two species can be differentiated by the way they probe the water… I will have to research that further!
Great photos! Amazed how close you got
This was an extremely tolerant bird. He paraded back and forth for us several times!