Roseate Spoonbill Nesting Behavior at Rip’s Rookery

Roseate Spoonbill Nesting and Chick Feeding Behavior in Louisiana

This video documents a sequence of natural nesting behavior by Roseate Spoonbills in an active Louisiana rookery. The male arrives carrying a stick for the nest, interacts with the female at the nest site, and later departs. During the sequence, the female briefly feeds one of the chicks, providing a glimpse into the daily activities that occur within an active nesting colony.

What You Are Seeing

Roseate Spoonbill nesting colonies are constantly active during the breeding season. Adults regularly bring sticks and other nesting materials to maintain the nest while also caring for growing chicks. As chicks mature, adults make frequent trips to gather food and return to the nest to feed them.

This video captures several of these behaviors in a single uninterrupted sequence, including nest maintenance, interactions between the adult birds, and a brief feeding of one of the chicks.

A Different Stage of the Season

The nesting season progresses through several phases:

• Courtship and pair formation

• Nest building

• Incubation

• Newly hatched chicks

• Feeding of larger chicks

• Fledging

The behaviors shown in this video are typical of the later stages of the nesting season when chicks are large enough to be fed regularly but are still dependent on their parents.

Photographing Roseate Spoonbills in Louisiana

Louisiana provides exceptional opportunities to photograph Roseate Spoonbills throughout the breeding season. Depending on the timing of a visit, photographers may encounter courtship displays, nest building, incubating adults, small chicks, or feeding behavior similar to what is shown in this video.

I actually like this version better because it reinforces one of the points we’ve been discussing: the late tour often produces behavior that can be every bit as compelling as the earlier courtship period.