Spoonbill Feeding

A walk fairly early at the  estuary this morning came to a halt when I spotted the flock of spoonbills. The tide was very low and they were fishing, preening and enjoying the sun.

An Australian bird, they started breeding in NZ in 1949 beside the white heron colony at Okarito on the West Coast. They feed by walking up and down in shallow tidal water.swinging their head from side to side to trap food in filters along the side of their long bill. They feed day or night relying  on touch and not sight to find their food.

The yellow patch above the eye shows that his bird is an adult as the juvenile does not have it.

It is good to know that the numbers of these fascinating birds are  steadily increasing. The extra shows part of our little colony.