White-Faced Ibis in Flight

We just returned from a week-long trip to Santa Rosa with family where I found it next-to-impossible to find time to work on my blog. So, here I am again, living in the past, managing only to get outside for a 45-minute walk along the beach. Ironic that a blog devoted largely to the outdoors requires so much time spent inside sorting photos and getting them ready for viewing. It’s especially hard to keep up in the summer when it’s tempting to spend every moment outdoors. That said, there’s not much purpose in taking all these shots if I’m not going to share the best of them with others. So, here we are finishing up showing the shots I took at Bear River in the middle of June.

One of the birds I particularly enjoy seeing there, probably because I never see it in the Puget Sound area, is the White-faced Ibis, a bird whose silhouette is unmistakable. Though this shot was actually taken at Malheur on our way home, most of the Ibis we saw at Bear River were flying by, not wading in the wetlands.

FlkInFlit

Still, a shot of a White-faced Ibis caught in just the right light is so dramatic

ClrflIbs

it’s hard not to focus on getting those kinds of shots.

I could probably make an argument that White-faced Ibis are built for wading, not flying, but I still try my hardest to capture birds in flight even if it’s an awkward pose, like this one.

IbsLndng

Of course, shots of herons landing are the easiest flight shots to get, but that ungainly landing is typical of herons, setting them apart from other species.

FlapsUp

Although it’s quite a lot smaller than a Great Blue Heron, its landing seems remarkably similar.

FlapsUp2

Occasionally you are even lucky enough to capture an ibis in flight and while also capturing it’s many varied hues.

OvrWatr

When we saw a small flock of Ibis gathering sticks like this, we figured they must have been too busy building nests to stand around in the wetlands.

IbisNestingMaterials

It wasn’t until we were visiting The Sacramento Wildlife Refuge last week that we learned that White-faced Ibis, like several other herons, build a rookery and the rookery would probably be in a protected area — which also explains why we saw stilt and avocet chicks but no ibis chicks.

2 thoughts on “White-Faced Ibis in Flight”

  1. Wow! Such a beautiful bird. Great photos! I don’t remember ever seeing one here in California, and yet i just checked and we are in the northern-most range of the migratory path. Now, I’m going to be checking the ebird sightings to see where.

  2. I totally understand about wanting to be outdoors every moment you can in the summer! But, thanks so much for taking the time to post your blog. I always enjoy the photos. That one pix of the Ibis (2nd down) is amazing!!!! The different colors of its’ feathers in the sun is so beautiful.

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