The White Ibis was wading in the canal just off the dike at the rice field impoundment. I waited patiently for him to get far enough from the bank to get a clear shot.
Then an intruder! Several Ring-billed Gulls were on the opposite bank in the shallow water. I didn’t expect any to be interested in the deeper water, not thinking they would float, not wade.
The Gull continued paddling until he was behind the White Ibis and lifted his head, turning a photobombed shot into a nice bird combo image.
If they follow last year’s pattern this tree will soon be occupied by nesting Great Blue Heron and Great Egret couples. Until then White Ibis have taken over the tree for sunning.
Doing the one-legged doze the Ibis stood right here for a couple of hours at least.
There is not a bit of material left from last year’s nests. Any Great Blues or Great Egrets that stake this out to start a family will be starting nest building from zero.
Taken as fall is coming to an end, 12/18/2018.
These images were taken in a section of the wildlife management area that I don’t visit often. Until recently you had to climb over fallen trees to get there and the dike is lower, which puts the photographer closer to the water which is good and bad.
Getting a lower prospective and Alligator reflection is good. Being closer to unseen Alligators can scare the &#!% out of a photographer if they move!
Being lower also means less breeze, which much of the year means more mosquitoes. Last week was cooler so there wasn’t much insect activity.
This White Ibis was enjoying the sun and along came a Little Blue Heron.
The Little Blue Heron slowly encroached on the Ibis’Â space.
I posted some images of this scene a few weeks ago taken at a different angle and cropped in a 1X1 format. I had so many images from that outing I thought I’d try a composition that showed more of that day’s “big” sky.
Bear Island WMA is closed to the general public now until February 9, 2019 so we won’t be back to see if these Wood Storks are still hanging around.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, 10/20/2018
This is the first time I’ve seen more than one or two wading birds in these two trees that are at the edge of a tidal marsh. Snowy Egrets were coming and going in the first tree, with one lone White Ibis on the left. The sky wasn’t a great backdrop on this morning but I couldn’t pass up photographing this activity.
White Ibis dominated the second tree and while I’m not that happy to have fall arrive, the leafless trees did allow a good look at the birds.
There were hundreds of Wood Storks in the trees at the back of the field and in the rice field canals, most of them tucked down or just too far away for good images. This dead tree served as a perch for a small group of storks and couple stray White Ibis as they rotated in and out of the distant trees.
One or two would land and almost immediately on or two would ext the tree. This was another one of those natural happenings that seemed to have a secret signal.
There was another canal between me and this tree but that water didn’t seem appealing to any of the wading birds on this afternoon.
The fluffy white clouds were building up pretty quickly and provided a more interesting background than plain blue sky.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, 10/20/2018
It seemed inevitable that they would fly.
I’m not sure who gave the signal, but the whole group got it.
Click on either image for larger view.
White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret
White Ibis are brown when they are young, and gradually become mottled, then change to full white.
Peek-a-boo and see my bright blue eye!
This gnarly tree that hang over a pond are attractive perches for the Ibis, some taking up a position out in the open.
A group of six or eight were perched through out this tree, blending in with the yellowish leaves.
This Ibis picked up his lunch and took off after the other Ibis in his flock started closing in to see what he had.
It can be disconcerting when a flock of wading birds lands in a tree over your head. Thoughts of getting pooped on come to mind, and as much as I’d hate to be the recipient of that I’d hate it to land on my camera even more.
This flock of six or eight White Ibis didn’t seem to be concerned about the few photographers standing below and provided some nice poses.
After awhile they took off one by one, and because they were so close to the trees there was no option for in flight photographs.
These were taken in the middle of February and just a few buds were starting to show on the trees.
