It is all about the spoons today, in this forth helping of Roseate Spoonbills from Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge…that bill! This is one of those cases where only a picture will do it justice…words fail. These shots from late afternoon with the light behind the birds show some of the subtitle texture on the leather-like upper bill, and the elongated nostrils, both of which I had missed until now (the plumage is so spectacular that it is easy to over look finer details…or at least it is for me).
Different angles, but still all about the spoons.
Canon SD4000IS behind the 15-56x Vario eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for equivalent fields of view of 1) 4000mm @ 1/500th @ ISO 125, f11 effective, and 2-3) 2000mm @ 1/640 @ ISO 125, f5.5 effective. Programmed auto. Though this is a case where Exposure Compensation for backlight might have been effective, I am learning that the Canon SD4000IS’s digital sensor has more dynamic range that I am used to, and generally, especially when the bird fills a significant amount of the frame, does better on straight Auto exposure than I can do by fiddling with EV. This is good. One less thing to worry about.
Processed in Lighroom for clarity and sharpness.
Pic of the Day 
Wow !! Nice pictures !!!