On New Year’s Day I had a rare couple of free hours, so I headed over to Orlando Wetlands to photograph one of my favorite birds – the Roseate Spoonbill. Even though we’d just had a cold snap and the people were bundled up in heavy jackets, the birds are hearing the call of spring. Breeding plumages are emerging and nesting competitions have already begun!

It was the perfect afternoon for photographing these beautiful birds. The sky was clear, the setting sun was to my back, and the winds were from the west, meaning that the birds would take off and land with their wings pointed right at my camera lens. The park was busy with holiday guests who were all gawking at the pink birds. “Those aren’t flamingos!!” was a common observation.

The birds nest in trees not too far from the boardwalk. It’s pretty easy to observe them as they roost in the treetops. The male bird above is in full breeding plumage, with dark carmine streaks on his wings, more pronounced orange on his face and tail, and darker red legs. After he took off from this branch, he joined his mate who was already on eggs.

The action can be quite spectacular when the birds start flying just before sunset. On this particular afternoon, I think they were tired from their New Year’s festivities, because they were incredibly low-key. For about half an hour I watched this bird preen himself. Look at the little tufts of fur on the back of his head – that’s part of his emerging breeding plumage.

The sun dipped lower in the sky, and the light was just perfect on the birds. They are beautiful but not entirely graceful. They will stand on a branch for several minutes, calculating their next move. Then they sort of heave themselves in the air and flap their wings as if they are going to fly a large distance – all while they kind of propel themselves to the adjacent branch. It seems like an inefficient use of energy but it does yield great wing-flap opportunities!

Just as the ranger came around to close the boardwalk for the evening, a sharp sound got all the birds in the air. For a couple of frantic minutes, the photographers worked their shutters while pink feathers filled the skies with action shots. So I ended up with a few flight shots – and a desire to head back the next time the weather cooperates!