The birdwatching season has begun! In the beautiful San Blas, Riviera Nayarit, we have a special guest that from time to time, can be seen around the marshes that surround this port. We talk about the Roseate Spoonbill.
This relative of herons, proudly displays its fantastic pink plumage as it strolls through our municipality’s mangroves. Its scientific name is Platalea ajaja and it can be slightly more than one meter tall.
Its other great characteristic that also gave its name, is its curious and helpful spoon-shaped bill, since it can be wiggled from one side to the other in order to filter its food from the muddy banks of the rivers, lakes and estuaries where it lives.
You are probably wondering where it gets that pink color from, that so much draws attention, it turns out that nature is so wise that just like flamingos and scarlet ibis, the color of their plumage comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments found in the invertebrates it consumes.
Photo via Digital Plume Hunter on Flickr.
To its misfortune, during the twentieth century, the use of lush feathered hats made of this unique bird was so fashionable among the aristocracy of large cities, that it was strongly pursued until it got almost extinct, however, people have been more conscious and the hunting of this precious specimen was left aside.
It is likely that you will find a Roseate spoonbill if you visit the lookout near the ecological community of Singayta or you venture to visit the water bodies that abound in San Blas, we highly recommend reading this note about the amazing boat trips offered in piers and jetties.
As is customary, we sincerely ask you to take care of this bird’s habitat as if it were your own home, since the responsibility of preserving nature belongs to everyone.
What is your favorite exotic bird? Don’t stop sharing your comments on our social media and enjoy San Blas, there is #AllToBeDiscovered.
#SanBlasRivieraNayarit #LikeSanBlas
