With the days rapidly ticking down toward the start of the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival I took a break from my preparations yesterday afternoon to do some scouting for my field workshops. Hopefully the wind that has been blowing the past couple of days will lay down a bit (though I will put up with it if it means the sun will be shining). As I was driving along a pair of Roseate Spoonbills flew in and landing near the wildlife drive and began to forage which prompted me to stop and shoot a little.

Spoonbills have evolved with highly sensitive nerve endings in their bills and they forage by sweeping them, partially open, side-to-side in shallow water. When the bill makes contact with prey it snaps shut and the "Spoonie" snaps its head back quickly, throwing the food back toward the throat. I cropped the original tightly here - as near as I can tell it is a small fish that looks like the tail is curled back toward the head. I shot twice in this sequence and in the second image the fish is gone - shutter speed was 1/1250 second with 8 frames/second capability - an indication that this process happens very quickly.

While waiting for the Spoonbills to wander back my way I had a bit of a chuckle when some passersby stopped to ask if the pink birds were Flamingos. The driver seemed a bit put off when I replied "No, they are Roseate Spoonbills" by responding to my answer with disappointment in her voice, just saying "Oh" and driving on down the road. Too many plastic Flamingos in yards around the state, I guess.