The Roseate Spoonbill

6/21/2017

Happy Summer! We have been lucky to see several Roseate Spoonbills this year! I love the spoonbills because of their beautiful pink color and their unusual bills. Photographing them is difficult, however, because the ones we've seen were busy feeding, swishing their bills around in the water very quickly. As a consequence, all of our photographs turned out blurry. I don't mind, though, because this frustration sparked a poem, a limerick.

The Roseate Spoonbill

Her bill is a long slotted spoon.
She dips it down in the lagoon.
With hoovering swishes,
she captures small fishes--
in the pink on a June afternoon.

© B.J. Lee 2017

Thanks to Heidi for hosting!

41 Comments

Linda M. link

6/22/2017 03:29:49 pm

Fun & funny....in the pink...long slotted spoon.

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 10:59:05 pm

Thanks Linda! The spoonbills crack us up with their antics - like vaccuum cleaners in the water with those bills!

April Halprin Wayland link

6/22/2017 04:18:21 pm

B.J ~ I, too, love the slotted spoon. And what beautiful colors those birds are, wow. Enjoy summer!

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:00:16 pm

Thanks for stopping by, April! They truly are beautiful! Thank you! Enjoy your summer too!

KatApel link

6/22/2017 04:18:27 pm

Beautiful! I would love to see a blushing pink spoonbill! Between the picture and your poem, I'm thinking of strawberry thickshakes!

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:01:52 pm

Hi Kat! Thanks for stopping by! Ummm, strawberry thickshakes! I hope you get a chance to see one! The first time I saw one, I thought it was a flamingo.

KatApel link

6/25/2017 01:04:48 am

I must admit, my first thought was, 'I didn't think flamingos had spoonbills...?'. :)

Brenda link

6/22/2017 05:04:51 pm

I love the photo and poem. They have the pink of flamingos but look like flamingos from mars. :-)

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:02:42 pm

Thank you, Brenda! Yes! Flamingos from mars! :)

Kay Jernigan McGriff link

6/22/2017 05:16:00 pm

What a fun poem--and a funny bird. I can see why you enjoy their visits. I'm smiling from both the picture and your limerick.

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:03:36 pm

Thank you, Kay! They're truly remarkable birds!

Michelle Kogan link

6/22/2017 05:50:02 pm

She's beautiful B.J., can I paint her sometime . . . love your limerick too–it's wonderful and goes with the Roseate perfectly! Her coloring is spectacular, thanks!

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:04:44 pm

I hope you get to paint one, some day, Michelle! And thank YOU!

Linda Baie link

6/22/2017 08:20:53 pm

Hi B.J., what wonders you must see, and often! I love what we manage in a couple of weeks on the beach, but every day, super! I love that play of "pink on a June afternoon".

B.J. Lee

6/22/2017 11:06:19 pm

Thank you, Linda! Yes, it truly is Paradise down here, but oh, the heat and humidity in summer! Still, I prefer a Florida summer to a New England winter. :)

Christie Wyman link

6/23/2017 03:21:13 am

What a gorgeous bird! How lovely. Love those hoovering swishes! Thanks for your lovely poetic offering this morning.

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 08:58:55 am

Thank you, Christie! They are gorgeous!

Heidi Mordhorst link

6/23/2017 03:34:26 am

BJ! I seem to recall you didn't used to have a blog, but here you are. LOVE your spoonbill limerick--just perfectly informative and clever.

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 09:00:54 am

Hi Heidi! I've had a blog for over 5 years, but haven't always been active, depending on my writing projects. I'm glad you liked my limerick! :)

Tabatha

6/23/2017 05:00:21 am

"Hoovering swishes" -- great descriptor! Charming limerick all the way around. I would dearly love to see a roseate spoonbill in person!

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 09:04:34 am

Thank you, Tabatha! Everyone should get to see a roseate spoonbill!

Laura Shovan link

6/23/2017 08:24:43 am

What a fun poem, B.J.! Does this bird get its pink color from the things it eats, like a flamingo?

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 09:03:33 am

Hi Laura and thank you. I had the same question! From what I've read, I believe they do!

Margaret Simon link

6/23/2017 08:49:59 am

Love the slotted spoon and the pink of June afternoon. We have roseate spoonbills on the bayou but rarely do I see them, usually above in flight.

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 09:07:00 am

Hi Margaret! Thank you! Yes! I've only ever seen them before rarely, usually a quick peek on the side of the road in a ditch or something like that. But, this year - we have been seeing both spoonbills and limpkins, a former heard-but-not-seen friend, as well!

Robyn Waayers

6/23/2017 08:54:18 am

Nice! We feel lucky to have seen these guys way down south (Big Cypress Reserve, I think it was called).

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 09:08:00 am

Hi Robyn! I'm glad you got to see them when you were here!

Ruth link

6/23/2017 11:09:40 am

So pretty, and I love your poem!

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 12:18:14 pm

Thanks so much, Ruth! I appreciate that!

Mary Lee

6/23/2017 04:54:30 pm

WOW! What an exotic (to me) bird that is so regular (to you)! Love your limerick for all the reasons everyone else has already cited!

B.J. Lee

6/23/2017 06:32:17 pm

Thanks Mary Lee! It's exotic to me too since I'm from New England and they aren't seen all the time down here. this year, however, we've luckily seen a few of them and it's a real treat!

Buffy Silverman link

6/23/2017 06:44:39 pm

Fun limerick, BJ--I especially love that you worked pink into your final line!

B.J. Lee

6/24/2017 06:34:00 am

Hi Buffy! Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Violet N. link

6/23/2017 07:36:53 pm

What a fun limerick. I'm a fan of especially the last line. Clever!

B.J. Lee

6/24/2017 06:17:00 am

Thank you, Violet, and thanks for stopping by!

Carol Varsalona link

6/23/2017 09:32:26 pm

B.J., your limerick is absolutely delightful and the bird is a gorgeous shade of pink. I am really into pink these days and I know you know why. If you would like this poem in my spring or summer gallery with the photo, let me know immediately.

B.J. Lee

6/24/2017 06:35:40 am

Thank you, Carol! Truly a beautiful shade of pink with several gradations! I'll contact you!

Diane Mayr

6/24/2017 06:23:22 am

Your comment "seeing both spoonbills and limpkins" got me running to Google images. Wow! Up here in New Hampshire, I'm happy getting a glimpse of a great blue heron flying over!

B.J. Lee

6/24/2017 06:40:50 am

Hi Diane! I used to live in MA so I know what you're saying. When we moved down here in 2000, we couldn't believe our eyes! Egrets, both great and snowy, every day. Great blues, every day. Little Green Herons, Little Blue Herons, Ibis, quite common. Wood storks, spoonbills, limpkins, less common but you still see them. Louisiana heron, rare, but I've seen them. And on and on... Plus pelicans & dolphins nearly every time you hang out by the beach. It is, indeed, Paradise, is you can take the heat. currently 95% humidity.

Jane @ Raincity Librarian link

6/24/2017 08:54:10 am

Wow! What an exotic-looking bird, I've never seen one quite like it! Definitely a face filled with personality. :-)

B.J. Lee

6/24/2017 12:51:02 pm

Yes! Lots of personality! Thanks for stopping by, Jane!

Author

I am a poet who writes for children and sometimes for adults. I live in Florida with my husband, speculative poet, Malcolm Deeley, and our toy poodle Bijoux. I have over 90 poems published or forthcoming in major anthologies and magazines, including "The Journal of Children's Literature". In 2014, I reached the Final Four in the March Madness Poetry Contest. I'm a member of The Poets' Garage and The SCBWI.

Poets' Garage website

Includes my poem "Skateboard Girl"

Includes my poem "The Red Crabs of Christmas Island"

Coming in 2018 National Geographic's book of US: 200 Poems of People, Places, and Passions (edited by J. Patrick Lewis.)
Will include my poem, "Groundhognostication"