Category Archives: Spoonbill
Spoonbill grabbing breakfast at Nyngan
A Yellow-billed Spoonbill fishes for breakfast on a cold and blustery morning. We were at the Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, on the Bogan River in central New South Wales. This is where we’d spent the first night of our trip out west from Sydney, before heading further into the Outback.
It was a cold and blustery morning. After half an hour or so of filming birds, I was pleased to return to my cabin for a hot coffee!
I’ve seen a couple of Royal Spoonbills before, but this is my first Yellow-billed. It’s duller than the black-and-white Royal, with its pale beak and yellow legs:
A side view shows the bird’s rather pretty tail:
If you’d like to know more about Nyngan and the Bogan Shire, take a look at my bookmark’s blog post.
Common name: Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Scientific name: Platalea flavipes
Approximate length: 75-90 cm
Date spotted: 18 May 2024 (autumn)
Location: Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, New South Wales, Australia: 31°33’39.1″S 147°10’45.2″E
Royal Spoonbill at Manly Dam
This is only the second time I’ve ever seen a spoonbill, and the first time I’ve seen one at Manly Dam. This picture shows the wide, flattened end of the beak that gives the bird its name:
Royal Spoonbills are large birds, about 80 cm tall. In the breeding season, they have long white feathers trailing from their heads and can look quite magnificent. This bird, though, doesn’t have its breeding plumage. It was quite sleepy, dozing in the autumn sun, and I was lucky to catch it moving around.
Here’s another picture showing the head and beak in profile:
A while ago, I saw my first spoonbill at Manly Beach. That one did have its breeding plumage, and its feathers were a brighter white than today’s bird. Take a look at my post from October 2020. Today’s bird also lacks the white spot above the eye that adults have. It could be a juvenile, still to come into full plumage.
Common name: Royal Spoonbill
Scientific name: Platalea regia
Approximate length: 75-80 cm
Date spotted: 28 April 2023 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’48.1″E
Royal Spoonbill at Manly Beach
Today I saw a Royal Spoonbill for the first time. The bird was strutting along the bank of Manly Creek, right where the lagoon opens into the Queenscliff end of Manly Beach. The spoonbill was accompanied by a White-faced Heron.
A Royal Spoonbill is a large white bird with a black face, a spoon-shaped beak, and black legs. Spoonbills feed by dragging their beaks through the water. In the video below, the bird hops into the water and trawls for food. During mating season (which is now), Royal Spoonbills have an impressive crest of long white feathers on the back of their heads. Thanks to the wind today, you can see this bird’s fine crest blowing around its head.
Common name: Royal Spoonbill
Scientific name: Platalea regia
Approximate length: 75-80 cm
Date spotted: 25 October 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Beach, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’06.8″S 151°17’16.3″E
Sydney Birder 