Glossy Ibis

 

April 30th

          Mike and I decided to go to Magee Marsh this morning with the hope of finding some new migrants.  It was chilly and the north winds were blowing, so it was pretty dead on the boardwalk.  I think there were more people than birds today.  We did manage to see a handsome Magnolia Warbler which was our only new bird. 

          Next, we took the wildlife drive at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.  I was less than enthusiastic, and we were trapped behind slow gawkers, so it seemed to take forever. Besides we didn’t see anything of interest.  At this point I was ready to go home. 

          My garden was calling, and I spent some time working in the yard until it started to rain.  I came inside and Mike said, “I just saw a post that someone saw a Glossy Ibis just west of Defiance.  It’s about an hour from here.”  This is a very special bird so of course I said, “Let’s go”.  We got to the location which was a small marshy spot in an agricultural area.  We kept scanning the reeds and finally after close to half an hour Mike spotted the bird.  It was important to get good looks at the ibis to differentiate it from the very similar White-faced Ibis.  We finally saw it through our spotting scope and could see that it was definitely a Glossy Ibis.  While scanning for the ibis, we spotted a Semipalmated Plover which was a bonus bird.

          From a distance a Glossy Ibis looks uniformly dark, but a close look in good light shows iridescent maroon, emerald, bronze, and violet.  This long-legged, long-billed bird forages in wetlands searching for insects, small fish, and seeds.  Normally, the Glossy Ibis is found year-round along the gulf coast, throughout Florida and along the Atlantic coast as far north as the Carolinas.  In the summer, it is found along the Atlantic coast as far north as Maine.  However, it is rare to find a Glossy Ibis in the Midwest.  The birding gods were looking out for us today.  (3 new species, total 216)

          Semipalmated Plover

          Glossy Ibis (very rare)    

          Magnolia Warbler

                                        Glossy Ibis

                                           Magnolia Warbler

                       Hooded Warbler (1st year female)


    

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