The Roseate Spoonbill, once a bird that stuck pretty close to home, is becoming a roaming vagabond.
A spoonbill in a rockery for wading birds near Melbourne, Fla. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal
Forced from South Florida by rising sea levels, deteriorating water quality and poor nesting conditions, hundreds of Spoonbills moved first up both coasts of Florida. Now they’re testing out fresh territories in almost every mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast state.
They’re turning up in bays and wetlands along the coasts as well as near inland cities and suburbs where they can be a startling sight for unsuspecting birders. Researchers say these forays often lead to nesting colonies in new locations that solidifies their arrival.
Jerry Lorenz
“Once they’ve found a new place, it’s only a matter of time before they’re nesting there,’’ said Dr. Jerry Lorenz, director of research at Audubon Florida and the nation’s leading Spoonbill expert.
With pinkish red plumage and gawky form reminiscent of their dinosaur lineage, the spoonbills have great popular appeal, which is expanding as their reach spreads out. Our package last year on the spoonbill’s move north into Georgia and South Carolina was among the best-read Flying Lesson’s posts ever.
Li-Young Lee began writing as a student at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of five books of poetry and a memoir and has been recipient of almost all the major poetry awards. 
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Robert Rice, a veteran bird scientist who spent his career with the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center, explained what happens: “They can eat so much fruit, it ferments in their gut and they go wobbly for a while,” Rice said.
It’s a magnificent sight, one I assumed I’d miss this year with our limited mobility. But the other day, wandering through the trees not 50 feet from our home, I noticed what looked like a new arrival. It was the first of a flock of Cedar Waxwings that gradually became an avalanche, all collecting insects as if their lives depended on it.
As birders all know, the more people get interested in birds, the more likely they are to want our state and federal government agencies to protect them.
That loud, distinctive whistle is often the earliest note of the morning in much of the country. When the full bird orchestra eventually joins in, the Cardinal still holds the first chair.
