White-Faced Ibis at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

The best chance to test my new camera’s ability to capture birds in flight was taking shots of the innumerable White-faced Ibis we saw at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. While we’ve long seen ibis at Malheur, I can’t remember ever seeing so many before.

It’s relatively easy to photograph them at a distance when they’re feeding in wetlands, but you’re more apt to see them flying from field to field.

Once you’ve seen them, it’s impossible to miss their silhouette in the sky.

It’s even harder to miss their iridescent colors

when seen in bright sunlight.

Leslie says that they always remind her of Egypt, and I’ll have to admit that I could hardly believe my eyes when I first saw these “exotic” birds in the southern Oregon high desert.