White-Faced Ibis

As I noted earlier I was really looking forward to see the avocets at Malheur, but I wasn’t about to ignore the White-Faced Ibis once I saw them. I’d never seen them before sighting them flying over at Malheur two years ago, though I confused them with cormorants. Silly me, the silhouette as unmistakable as it is striking.

White-Faced Ibis

I’ve never seen another bird in the Pacific Northwest that looks anything like this

.

Somehow it seems fitting that I also saw them here for the first time in full-breeding colors,

White-Faced

though my camera seems incapable of capturing their true iridescence.

We did see them as they started to change colors in California this Spring, and Leslie got the best shot of them up to that point. However , I think this bird is even more magnificent than the one she shot.

White-Faced Ibis

It was so beautiful that a set up my tripod and 500mm lens with extender to take shots of it for nearly a half hour, shooting it from multiple angles as it contentedly fed.

White-Faced Ibis

7 thoughts on “White-Faced Ibis”

  1. Once again amazing images. Never have I seen this type of ibis. Splendous.

    1. Yes, quite the transformation. I was almost awestruck when I encountered this last one alone in a small wetlands.

  2. Loren, these are absolutely gorgeous shots. You’ve captured the bird’s personality as well as its beauty, and shown me a species I’ve never seen before. Thanks.

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