Spoonbill Feeding on Wind-Scoured Ghana Ridge

Flat noon light washes the wet sand of a wind-scoured ridge in Ghana, where a spoonbill stands knee-deep in a shallow lagoon. The bird's white plumage gleams against the dark, churned mud, its distinctive flat bill sweeping horizontally through the water. Gusting winds whip the sparse grasses along the ridge edge, bending them sharply against the sky. Rain has just passed, leaving a sheen of water on the bird's feathers and the surrounding terrain. The spoonbill remains alert, head tilted, scanning the surface for movement. One ripple spreads outward from the tip of its bill as it probes the silt.