Bird field guide · Ibises and Spoonbills

Photographing the Roseate Spoonbill

How to photograph the Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja): the right lens for its size, shutter speeds for perched and moving animals, and when it's most often seen (January, March and April).

55–85 cm1/2000 s

55–85 cm

Typical length (family range)

1/500 s

Shutter: perched / still

1/2000 s

Shutter: action / flight

f/6.3–f/8

Aperture

33,573

Research-grade sightings in N. America

Recommended camera settings#

ModeManual + Auto ISOLock shutter & aperture, let ISO float

Shutter (still)1/500 s

Shutter (action)1/2000 s

Aperturef/6.3–f/8

FocusAF-C + subject/eye detectionHerons and egrets stand still for long periods — wait for the strike or take-off and use continuous AF.

DriveHigh-speed burst

Lens100–400 mmFull-frame equivalent

Focal length needed to frame it#

For a subject about 70 cm long filling a third or half of the frame width horizontally.

Distance	⅓ of frame (FF)	½ of frame (FF)	⅓ of frame (APS-C)	⅓ of frame (MFT)
5 m (16 ft)	83 mm	125 mm	56 mm	42 mm
10 m (33 ft)	167 mm	251 mm	111 mm	83 mm
15 m (49 ft)	250 mm	376 mm	167 mm	125 mm
20 m (66 ft)	334 mm	501 mm	223 mm	167 mm
30 m (98 ft)	501 mm	752 mm	334 mm	250 mm
50 m (164 ft)	834 mm	1,253 mm	556 mm	417 mm

When to find it#

Share of iNaturalist observations by month across North America. Peak months: January, March and April.

About the Roseate Spoonbill#

The roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) - sometimes placed in its own genus Ajaia - is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in South America mostly east of the Andes, and in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and from central Florida's Atlantic coast at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, adjoined with NASA Kennedy Space Center at...

Summary adapted from Wikipedia via iNaturalist (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Field-craft tips#

Feeding flocks move steadily — track and wait for the head-up moment.
Herons and egrets stand still for long periods — wait for the strike or take-off and use continuous AF.
Sightings peak in January, March and April, which is when you'll have the most chances.

Ethics#

The welfare of the animal comes first: if it changes its behaviour because of you, you are too close.
Stay on trails, respect closures around nests, leks, dens and haul-outs.
Avoid playback and baiting in sensitive seasons; never bait predators.
Don't share precise locations of rare, nesting or roosting animals publicly.