Where to see
Platalea ajaja
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge leads · 10 parks ranked by real sighting rates
Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Roseate Spoonbill during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)
| # | Park | Country | Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 7 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
In Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, United States, about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Roseate Spoonbill sighting on a given day, the highest of the 10 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.
Palo Verde National Park and more
After Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the next-best odds of seeing a Roseate Spoonbill are in Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 50%) and Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%). Outside North America, the best options are Palo Verde National Park in Central America (about 50%) and Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas in South America (about 40%).
It depends on the park
In the top parks, the best months are February and December in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (about 70%), December in Palo Verde National Park (about 70%) and January and October in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (about 60%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Roseate Spoonbill on a given day. Each park's Roseate Spoonbill page has the full month-by-month chart.
