Roseate Spoonbill

Nearly 102,000 egret, spoonbill, ibis, and heron nests were discovered during the 2021 season. The stunning total is 2.5 times more nests than in recent decades

A roseate spoonbill Audubon Florida tagged as a chick in the early 2000s was rediscovered alive and feeding chicks of her own earlier this year, and now at more than 18 years old is the oldest known bird of that species. The bird has made Florida Bay at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula its home the whole time. That a spoonbill has grown so old is a milestone of sorts. The bright pink birds with long legs and an unusually-shaped bill were in jeopardy in the early 1900s. Back then they were heavily hunted for their striking plumes, which were highly prized back then when women’s fashion included hats adorned with feathers -- and even entire birds.

While Roseate Spoonbills, a tropical and subtropical shore bird, traditionally call Southwest Florida home, they are nesting—and flying—much further north now.