The wingspan of the American White Pelican can be as much as nine feet wide. A single pelican is shown in the image above and the next image is a trio flying over the water.
American White Pelican
These are some more of of my favorite captures of birds with long wingspans.
For this week’s Bird Weekly Challenge Lisa has asked us to show flocks of birds. The above image is of a flock of Roseate Spoonbills on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Flock of Great Egrets with two Spoonbills in Everglades National ParkFlock of Brown Pelicans in Coastal GeorgiaFlocks of nesting Egrets and Wood Storks at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia
It’s been five years since I spotted a Roseate Spoonbill where I live in coastal Georgia. Yesterday this pink beauty swooped down into the creek and kept me entertained for a short while.
Spoonbill in the neighborhood 2020
Seeing this magnificent bird made me smile this week. What made you smile?
Several years ago, Henry and I were sitting on our back deck when a big pink bird flew over the marsh and landed in the creek. Like any good bird photographer I grabbed my camera and went out to investigate.
There were two Roseate Spoonbills searching for food in the creek bed. Until that sighting I had never seen one of these magnificent birds in our area.
Roseate Spoonbill in Georgia Tidal CreekRoseate Spoonbill with 2 young juvenile little blue herons in Georgia
There was another Roseate Spoonbill in the creek for a few days the next year. Sadly, they haven’t been back since then.
Roseate Spoonbill in Georgia Creek
One winter a few years ago a Snowy Owl was spotted on top of one of the condominium buildings at the beach. Of course I grabbed my camera and went in search of this bird rarely seen in coastal Georgia. I set up my tripod with other excited birders and snapped away. He was pretty far off but I managed to get this shot. Can you see his yellow eyes?
We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.
On this day ten years ago, December 5, 2009, we were camped in the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park. We spent the day exploring the national park around Flamingo.
After entering Everglades National Park, the drive to the Flamingo Campground is another 38 miles through the park. Flamingo is the southernmost place in the mainland of the U.S. (The southernmost point in the U.S. is farther south in Key West.)
I wandered from our campsite in the morning to nearby Eco Pond where many wading birds were gathered.
Egrets and Spoonbill at Eco Pond
Wood Stork
Roseate Spoonbill
Later in the day we went for a boat ride on a big pontoon boat in Florida Bay. There were some White Pelicans on a sandbar close to the boat. There were also hundreds of White Pelicans on a sand bar too far away to take pictures. As we headed back to the dock the rain started coming down.
White Pelicans in Florida Bay
Florida Bay on a rainy day
The Flamingo area of Everglades National Park is far from civilization and a wonderful place for bird watching and seeing other wildlife. In addition to the birds visitors can observe alligators and crocodiles in the wild. During certain times of year there may even be manatees in the water.