As the rookery tree filled up for the night the birds had to be content with less space or have discussions about personal space.
These White Ibis had it figured out and evenly spaced themselves before tucking up a leg and in their beaks.
A lone White Ibis had his spot before the sun went down but wasn’t quite ready to close his eye.
The sun shining in his open mouth gave a weird look at this White Ibis’ throat. There really isn’t much to any of the wading birds bodies.
When I first arrived at the end of the boardwalk at St. Augustine Alligator Farm a Great Egret had this little corner to himself. He was just sitting there, not actively bathing, but dunking a little. No Alligators were in the immediate vicinity, that I could see.
Even though he wasn’t doing anything to attract attention he soon had company, as first a Roseate Spoonbill sauntered over, a Snowy Egret dropped in, and then a White Ibis joined the group. The White Ibis, with a splash of mud on his wings, was most in need of a rinse.
The dirt look to the Spoonbill’s feathers is the transition to the darker pink/red that happens as they mature.
1/29/2018, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, Florida.
I saw a lot of Roseate Spoonbills the first three days of my Florida trip in January but at a distance, behind low scrub and/or in low light. Finally on the third afternoon we came upon a flock of mixed wading birds in a marsh that was close enough to the road for clear photographs.
The flock was working from our right to the left, both wading and taking short flying hops.
The Ibis and Spoonbills seem quite content to hang out together.
This Roseate Spoonbill trio really show off the darker pink band on their wings, a contrast with the White Ibis that has just a hint of black on his wing tips.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, 1/28/2018
