It’s that time of year when the Orlando Wetlands become full of baby birds. And a lot of folks are tickled pink over the arrival some “teaspoons” – an affection nickname for baby Roseate Spoonbills
There are several nests with little ones in them, including one that has a whopping four babies.
The little spoonies are really cute – more so than a lot of baby birds. But their bills may not look like their parents’ right away.
“Roseate Spoonbill chicks don’t have a spoon-shaped bill immediately after hatching,” AllAboutBirds.org says. “When they are 9 days old the bill starts to flatten, by 16 days it starts to look a bit more spoonlike, and by 39 days it is nearly full size.”
There will be some fun weeks ahead as these little birds grow, leave their nests and hang around the wetlands for awhile.
The photos below are from the same trip to the wetlands (the one I made with photographer extraordinaire Red Huber) on April 18, but include several different nests at different times before sunset.
