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Roseate Spoonbill Preening at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Roseate Spoonbill Preening at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

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I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill at the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast.
The Roseate Spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithida. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America and grows to 28 to 34 inches (71–86cm) long, with a 47 to 52 inches (120–133cm) wingspan and a body mass of 2.6 to 4.0 pounds (1.2–1.8 kg). Adults have a bare greenish head ("golden buff" when breeding) and a white neck, back and breast (with a tuft of pink feathers in the center when breeding), and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey. There is no significant sexual dimorphism or difference. Like the American flamingo, their pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin. Another carotenoid, astaxanthin, can also be found deposited in flight and body feathers. The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched. They alternate groups of stiff, shallow wingbeats with glides. The species occurs in South America mostly east of the Andes, and in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of the United States, and from central Florida's Atlantic coast at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, adjoined with the NASA Kennedy Space Center at least as far north as South Carolina's Myrtle Beach. In the summer of 2021, sightings of the bird were reported well outside its typical range, including in Washington, D.C., upstate New York, and even New Hampshire. A large flock was spotted in Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax county drawing a large crowd of spectators.
Info above was extracted from Wikipedia.

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Taken on: January 28, 2022
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Sets appears in:   • Birds of Florida - Roseates   
Camera: Nikon D800, f/8.0, 1/2500 sec, 550mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: 200.0-400.0 mm f/4.0
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 1/2500 sec
Focal Length: 550mm
ISO: 640
Exposure Bias: +2/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: Auto
Gain Control: Low gain up
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
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