WADING BIRD PROFILES
Learn all about my favorite wading and sEA birds
The fabulous photos below are compliments of the very talented Michael Lund, a fellow Florida Master Naturalist. Thank you, Michael!
ROSEATE SPOONBILL
The Roseate Spoonbill is a shy, medium-sized water bird that is found in small flocks. It is beautiful from a distance with pale pink feathers and brighter pink shoulders and rump. Up close, it is rather bizarre with red eyes, a bald yellowish-green head and a giant spoon-shaped bill.
Roseate Spoonbills are found in coastal marshes, lagoons, mudflats and mangrove estuaries. They forage in shallow water with a muddy bottom. Spoonbills feed by walking forward and slowly sweeping their partly opened bill from side to side, feeling for crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, aquatic insects and fish. Once they feel prey, they snap their bill closed, swallowing the critter whole.
The Roseate Spoonbill gets its pink color from its food. Crustaceans contain a pigment called carotenoid that helps turn the feathers pink.
Roseate Spoonbills nest in trees near the water’s edge in groups with other large wading birds. They lay 2-5 whitish to pale green eggs that are covered with brown spots. The chicks may fledge the nest after 6 weeks and are capable of sustained flight at 7-8 weeks. The juveniles look similar to the adults but are a paler pink and have feathers on their heads. When the chicks hatch, their bills are not spoon-shaped but flatten out as the chick grows.
Spoonbills were virtually eliminated in the 1860s because of plume hunting. They are still uncommon and are very vulnerable to human disturbance.
SNOWY EGRET
The Snowy Egret is one of the most elegant herons, with a slender all white body, black bill, long black legs and brilliant yellow feet. During the breeding season, adults molt and develop long wispy feathers on their back, neck and head that were prized by plume hunters to decorate women’s hats in the late 1800s. With plumes once valued at twice the price of gold per ounce, Snowy Egrets were hunted to near extinction. Federal laws were enacted to protect these birds and today they are widespread in Florida and beyond.
Snowy Egrets live along the coast and prefer shallow water habitats such as mudflats, wetlands and marshes. Often they use a sit-and-wait technique to catch aquatic animals including fish, frogs, worms and crustaceans. At times they can be more active hunters - running, hopping and flicking their wings to gather prey such as small fish and reptiles. It has been said that a Snowy Egret “dances on water with golden slippers.”
The Snowy Egret nests in isolated trees, shrubs and mangroves, in mixed colonies of wading birds. Generally 3-5 pale blue-green eggs are laid. As one mate takes over on the nest for the other, it often times presents a stick, as if passing a baton! Immature Snowy Egrets look similar to adults but have duller, greenish legs.
WHITE IBIS
The White Ibis is a gregarious wading bird that feeds and roosts in large groups. It is distinguished by a curved, reddish-pink bill, long red legs and a white body. The White Ibis has black wingtips that are visible in flight and useful in identifying these birds.
White Ibis habitat is any type of shallow water – marshes, mudflats, mangrove estuaries or even flooded pastures. They feed by slowly walking and probing the bottom with their bill to feel for prey. They can also forage on land in mud or short grass. Their diet is varied but crayfish and crabs are favorites. They also eat insects, snails, frogs, marine worms and small fish.
The White Ibis nests in mixed colonies in mangroves or tree thickets and lay 2-5 pale blue-green eggs. When the young hatch, their bills are straight and don’t start to curve downward until they are 14 days old. The immature birds are a patchwork of white and brown with a pink bill and legs.
The White Ibis is one of the most numerous wading birds in Florida. While numbers are much lower than historical levels, current populations are stable or even growing. They are generally present throughout the year and do not migrate. These birds depend on wetlands for feeding and breeding and are thus vulnerable to habitat loss.
BROWN PELICAN
The Brown Pelican is a large, stocky seabird with a long neck and a giant bill. The adults have gray-brown bodies with a white neck and yellow heads. During the breeding season, the back and sides of the neck turn a dark reddish-brown. Immature birds are gray-brown all over including their head and neck.
Brown Pelicans are found in flocks, often times gliding in a V or single file line low across coastal waters. Brown Pelicans can be identified in flight by their large size, their slow, powerful wing beats and their long, broad wings. Despite their size, an average Brown Pelican weighs only 7-8 pounds.
The Brown Pelican lives along Florida seacoasts, saltwater bays and mangrove estuaries. They feed primarily on fish, rising up to 60 feet above the water and then plunging down headfirst. The impact stuns small fish that they scoop up with their big bill. They tilt their head to empty the water from their stretchy throat pouch before tossing their head back to swallow.
The Brown Pelican nests in colonies – often on an island or in a thicket of trees. They lay 2-3 chalky white eggs and the parents take turns incubating them under their huge webbed feet. The chicks are cared for by their parent’s even after they fledge the nest, 8-10 months total.
While once seriously endangered due to pesticide use, current Brown Pelican populations in Florida are healthy and increasing.
WOOD STORK
The Wood Stork is a hefty wading bird with long legs and a thick bill that is curved at the tip. Standing over three feet tall, it towers over most of the other wading birds. Wood storks are entirely white except for black flight feathers and a black tail. The head is un-feathered, dark in color and scaly-looking. Some say it resembles a piece of wood.
The Wood Stork inhabits swamps and wetlands along the coast. It forages by wading in shallow water with its head down and bill partially open. One wing is often extended as it digs in the muddy bottom with the opposite foot. It locates prey primarily by touch and quickly snaps its bill shut. A Wood Stork’s diet is mostly fish but crayfish, crabs and aquatic insects are also on the menu.
Nesting occurs in colonies of up to several hundred Wood Storks in mangrove or cypress forests. Wood Storks will only nest if water levels are receding and the fish are concentrated – making them easier to catch. Three to five eggs are laid and the parents have been seen regurgitating water over the nestlings to keep them cool! They resemble the adults except for a feathered head and a yellow bill.
Wood Stork populations have decreased significantly and are considered “threatened” in Florida. Habitat loss and the disruption of water flow through southern Florida are the main reasons for decline.
GREAT BLUE HERON
The Great Blue Heron is a very large, majestic wading bird with subtle blue-gray feathers. Its head features a long, thick orange-yellowish bill and a thin, black plume that extends out over its neck. Despite a height of over four feet, the Great Blue Heron weighs only 5-6 pounds due to its hollow bones. In flight it looks enormous with a wingspan of 6 feet.
The Great Blue Heron is very adaptable and thrives around all kinds of water – salt or fresh - marshes, estuaries, shorelines and riverbanks.
A hunting Great Blue Heron will wade slowly or stand statue-like, stalking fish and other prey in shallow water. Specially shaped neck bones allow for a lightning–fast thrust of the head as they stab fish, shrimp, crabs, frogs, turtles or snakes with their strong bills. It is generally a solitary feeder.
Breeding Great Blue Herons gather in colonies or “heronries” and build bulky stick nests high off the ground. The size of these colonies can range from 5 to 500 nests. The female lays 3-5 pale blue eggs. Immature birds are duller in color than the adults and lack the head plume.
Great Blue Heron are common in Florida and populations appear to be stable. A subspecies found in very southern Florida, called the Great White Heron, is slightly larger and entirely white.
This Glossary of Terms can be found in the back of Jenny’s First Catch