The Roseate Spoonbill – A Beautiful Oddity

Gorgeous at a distance and an oddity up close, is the Roseate Spoonbill.

Amelia River Cruise’s guests are commonly in awe when they see the lovely Roseate Spoonbill while on our cruise. These pink wading birds are common on Amelia and Cumberland Island. They are usually in small flocks, often mingling with others.

Amelia Island is the perfect location for these and other birds for a variety of reasons. Amelia’s surrounding wetlands, which include: coastal marshes, lagoons, mudflats, and other shallow waters, are an ideal habitat for these beautiful creatures. Also having a national park, Cumberland Island National Seashore, directly across from us, along with a community dedicated to maintaining a safe and natural habitat for wildlife, doesn’t hurt.

Spoonbills feed in shallow waters, like our coastal marches, walking forward slowly and swinging their heads side to side. They use nerve endings in their bills to detect food in the shallow, muddy waters that they feed in. Also, their bills have fine comb-like filters that strain the dirt particles from their food.

Their food source primarily consists of small fish and aquatic invertebrates. Some of these include: minnows, shrimp, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects (especially beetles), mollusks, and slugs. The Spoonbill eats some plant material, including roots and stems of sedge’s.

The Spoonbill’s appearance is quite bizarre up close. Reaching a length of up to 40 inches and a wingspan of 53 inches, this pink bird is quite easy to spot. Their lovely pink feathers, which cover most of their body, comes from the organisms on which they feed. Just like the famous flamingos.

The crazy thing is, once you are up close you will notice that they are completely bald! That’s right folks they have absolutely no feathers on their heads. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like the makings of one nasty sunburn to us!

Luckily birds, like the Spoonbill, are capable of producing a chemical called gadusol. Gadusol is a compound which shields birds, lizards, and amphibians against cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation. Who knew?! Its also a antioxidant which is used in a number of anti-aging creams… So THAT’S why birds never seem to age!

Now, before you jump on the bandwagon and start taking a gadusol supplement and/or buying creams with this compound in them, know that scientists have yet to prove that humans can actually absorb gadusol.  Sound like this trick is “For the Birds” (Sorry, I couldn’t help it!).

But if you enjoyed this tidbit of knowledge or even my silly joke you should definitely book a cruise with Amelia River Cruises. Our Beach Creek Tour is a great way to learn more about the birds that visit the Amelia Island area and see them in action!

Book your tour today!

Categorised in: Wildlife & Marine Biology