Roseate Spoonbill

This page is for the Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). The the slightly blurry and backlit photograph (below) of the birds at a distance is the one that took me from a casual bird photographer to having nature photography (primarily birds) as my main hobby. These birds were off the shore a bit and I did not have binoculars, so I was not sure of their species and originally thought they were Sandhill Cranes. When we got back to the hotel and I started looking at what I shot that day, I realized what they were. I thought “this is so cool!” While at the refuge, I talked to another birder and he let me know about the Tamron 150-600 lens and that they are reasonably affordable as a super telephoto lens for the hobbyist. I did my research and it was the best option for me in terms of a balance between quality and price. This photo is my first photographic evidence of the Roseate Spoonbill and was taken on March 25, 2021 at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Austwell, TX.