For visitors to Beaufort and The Sea Islands, I often see enthusiastic posts or questions about “Pink Birds” and “Flamingos”. They are actually Roseate Spoonbills!
Roseate Spoonbills are often found near marsh areas and water during low tide. They have a flat bill, and as they shake their head back and forth, feel for food like shrimp and small crustaceans. Their diet helps to fuel just how pink they get!
Roseate Spoonbills are also social birds, often feeding together in groups, or resting (and nesting) in trees above water. Roseate Spoonbills have become a common site in Beaufort and The Sea Islands (sometimes in cases year round now) due to habitat loss in areas along the Gulf of Mexico and Florida.
My favorite thing to tell people, is that I will never NOT get excited when I see a beautiful Spoonbill! So no, you aren’t seeing things, we really do have pink birds here in Beaufort and The Sea Islands!
Jenn Clementoni ~ Birding Beaufort