At the time of this writing, St. Marks NWR has at least a handful of roseate spoonbills observable from the main refuge road. In almost all places in Florida and other states, if you see pink on a beautiful bird it is almost always a spoonbill, this making identification very easy for the birding pro as well as a newbie.

However, on the refuge, this hypothesis is no longer accurate. Back after Hurricane Michael (have you ever noticed that Floridians don’t measure time in years but in hurricanes?) an adult American flamingo came to the refuge (probably blown in) and stayed for several months before taking a hiatus, and strangely this bird came back! Word of an unbanded, gorgeously hued flamingo living so far from its natural habitat has brought in birders from all over the planet in a quest to view her. Yes, I know that the only way to distinguish the sex of a flamingo is through DNA analysis, but I am sure it is a female by her grace and style. Refuge regulars named her Pinky.

Often she has fed a long way from the main road, causing the need for long hikes and expensive spotting scopes. However, in the last few days, Pinky has been feeding close to the main road, making observation and photography much easier. Jan and I have had the pleasure of viewing her from the side of the road, and one morning she was joined in her breakfast gathering by two spoonbills. At that moment, everything was pretty in pink. Word from the birding world is that she has gone to Tennessee, but let’s hope she returns later in the year.

Here are a few shots from our last encounters, including one Jan took of me shooting Pinky off of Lighthouse Road.











Most every time we go to refuge, unless traffic interferes, we stop at the first and second bridge looking for river otters (we have seen them twice). Sometimes we see alligators, sometimes turtles, but the other day we saw a pair of prothonotary warblers flying back and forth, bringing in nesting to the bird house.





Magnificent Frigate Bird
I have been fortunate to spot (and sometimes photograph) magnificent frigate birds three times at the refuge, each time after a major storm and each time by the lighthouse. Hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson—each time a big storm comes from the south, I’ll head for the lighthouse! This fellow was circling the lighthouse, joined by a half dozen brown pelicans. I watched this creature for at least ten minutes and only once saw a wing beat. This bird really is magnificent.



Baby Stilts
In the lighthouse pool, two adults are raising two youngsters. The babies wander around exploring without a care in the world as Mom and Dad fend off nosy grackles, inquisitive tri-colored herons, and hungry gators.





More Babies
Speaking of babies, here is a baby common gallinule with a parent, and a baby cotton rat having a snack.





Dragons!
Dragonflies are thicker on the refuge than politicians at the county fair in an election year.







This and That
Here is a red-breasted merganser, a cooter turtle, a drenched hawk, a great-crested flycatcher, and a mystery flower.











Rail Road Crossing
My friend Gary from Texas responded to my last post where I stated, "Early one morning, Jan and I were driving down past the boat launch when a momma rail shot across the road." He told me that the correct post should have been Rail Road Crossing. I love it! Thanks, Gary.

Here is another shot of a young king rail.



See you next time.

Tags: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, St. Marks Lighthouse, Nature Photography, Bird photography, Wildlife photography