A bird rarely seen in The Villages may have evacuated its coastal home ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
Photographer Ron Clark spotted the Roseate Spoonbill on Wednesday off the Hogeye Preserve Pathway in the Village of Marsh Bend.
The Roseate Spoonbill was common in parts of the southeast until the 1860s, but the birds were virtually eliminated from the United States as a side effect of the destruction of wader colonies by plume hunters. The birds began to re-colonize Texas and Florida early in the 20th Century. They are vulnerable to degradation of feeding and nesting habitats.
The birds live in coastal marshes where they like to forage in both shallow salt and fresh water. They eat shrimp, crayfish, crabs and aquatic insects.
This Roseate Spoonbill’s visit to Florida’s Friendliest Hometown may have been prompted by Hurricane Dorian, which has been scraping the Florida coastline for the past few days.
If the bird finds its “dream home,” it might become a permanent resident.
If you spot unusual wildlife in The Villages, share a photo with us at news@villages-news.com.
