Spoonbill chicks beg their parent for food at a nest in the Orlando Wetlands in Christmas, Florida. Photo: Ronen Tivony
I’m honored to share that my photograph of roseate spoonbill chicks begging their parent for food at Orlando Wetlands has been selected for The Week’s Best Photos of the Week, published March 27, 2026. Each week, The Week’s editors comb through thousands of images from wire services and news photographers worldwide to assemble a single gallery of the most powerful and visually compelling frames — and being placed among them is a genuine privilege.
Orlando Wetlands: Florida’s Premier Spoonbill Nesting Location
Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas, Florida is one of the most productive and photographer-friendly rookeries in the state. The 1,800-acre constructed wetland was originally designed to treat reclaimed water through natural marsh filtration — and in doing so, the City of Orlando inadvertently created one of Florida’s finest wading bird habitats.
Elevated berms run throughout the park, giving photographers elevated sightlines directly into nest trees without any need to wade or approach the birds. The open landscape means unobstructed light from early morning onward, and the sheer density of nesting activity, spoonbills, great blue herons, snowy egrets, anhingas, and wood storks all sharing the same canopy, means something is always happening.
For spoonbill chick photography specifically, the window is narrow. Chicks grow rapidly, and the early begging behavior visible in this image is only present for a few weeks before fledglings become increasingly independent. Arriving during peak nesting activity, roughly mid-April through May, makes the difference between documenting a fully active brood and finding empty nests.
Understanding Spoonbill Chick Feeding Behavior
The begging behavior captured in this photograph is driven by instinct and hunger, but understanding what is actually happening in the frame makes it more meaningful to photograph and to share.
Why chicks beg so dramatically. Young spoonbills cannot feed themselves. They depend entirely on adults to deliver partially digested fish, regurgitated directly into their open bills. The exaggerated neck-stretching and vocalizing behavior is not performance, it is a competition. In nests with multiple chicks, the most insistent begging often determines who gets fed first.
How adults respond. An adult returning to the nest will typically pause at the rim before feeding, allowing the chicks’ behavior to peak before delivering food. This predictable pause is one of the key moments photographers should anticipate, it is when the most expressive frames become possible.
How quickly chicks develop. Roseate spoonbill chicks hatch covered in white down and are completely helpless. Within five to six weeks they develop the pale pink juvenile plumage that marks the transition toward independence. The intense feeding phase captured here represents just a fraction of that window, which is why timing a visit to Orlando Wetlands correctly matters so much.
The Week’s Best Photos: What This Feature Represents
The Week is a respected international news magazine with a large global readership. Its weekly best photos gallery sits alongside images of major world events, conflicts, natural disasters, cultural celebrations, drawn from leading wire services.
Having a wildlife photograph selected for this gallery, means the image competed on equal footing with news photography from around the world and was judged worthy of inclusion. For wildlife and conservation subjects, that kind of mainstream visibility matters.
This publication follows closely on the heels of my spoonbill nesting image in The Guardian’s Week in Wildlife on March 20, and the Guardian’s News Photos of the Day feature on March 25. Three spoonbill features in one week across two major international outlets reflects both the quality of this season’s nesting activity at Orlando Wetlands and the growing interest in Florida wildlife photography on a global stage.
Photograph Roseate Spoonbill Chicks in Florida This Season
If photographing spoonbill chicks at Orlando Wetlands is something you want to experience firsthand, April and May are the months to plan around. I offer private one-on-one Spoonbills Florida Photography Tours at Orlando Wetlands and St. Augustine, tailored to your skill level and photographic goals.
On these sessions I help you read nest behavior so you can anticipate peak moments before they happen, dial in your camera settings for fast motion in variable early-morning light, and develop the compositional instincts that separate a good bird photo from a publishable one.
Frequently Asked Questions About Photographing Spoonbill Chicks in Florida
When do roseate spoonbill chicks appear at Orlando Wetlands? Eggs typically hatch from mid-February onward, with the active chick-feeding phase peaking through April and into May. The best window for photographing young chicks still in the nest is mid-April through early May most years.
How close can I get to spoonbill nests at Orlando Wetlands Park? The elevated berms at Orlando Wetlands bring you surprisingly close to active nest trees, close enough for frame-filling portraits with a 400–600mm lens without approaching the birds or causing disturbance. This is one of the main reasons it is such a productive photography location.
Do I need a long lens to photograph spoonbill chicks? A minimum of 400mm is recommended; 200–600mm gives you the best results for frame-filling portraits at rookery distances. I can advise on gear and settings in detail during a private consultation or on tour.
About Ronen Tivony
Ronen Tivony is an award-winning wildlife photojournalist, Certified Florida Master Naturalist, and Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS). His work is regularly published in leading global outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Week, CNN, BBC, The Atlantic, and many more.
He leads specialized wildlife photography workshops and tours throughout Florida’s most productive ecosystems, bringing decades of photojournalism experience to wildlife photography instruction.