Of the six spoonbill species, the Royal Spoonbill is the only one to breed in Aotearoa. Self introduced from Australia, they were first observed in the 1860s, they began breeding at Okarito in 1949 and are now spread throught the motu, with multiple breeding sites on both islands.
A small, itinerant flock numbering anywhere up to 25 birds is often found in the Anderson's Bay inlet where they share the abundant food supply with other species: gulls, terns, plovers and herons. There is a busy walking track around the inlet, and the spoonbills are quite sanguine about people. I stop by on many days to see how they are doing.
A nearly grown chick stalks around after its parent, begging food.
Feeding and preening take up a lot of attention. I am amazed that they manage to always look so clean and neat when toilette technique is restricted to that large, ungainly bill.
But what I wait to see are the flights. Occasionally they move from one side of the inlet to the other, and sometimes they shift off, singly or in groups, for some place else where the opportunities for food or sleep might be better.
The bird preens. Then it turns into the wind. Then it often poops, leans forward and begins to move those powerful wings...
...up...
...and down.
And away they go.
