We are now in the pressure zone, a mere two weeks before the big haunt and my days are starting to feel like back to back ultras. The good news is we are making progress – a lot of that thanks to my brother Ron spending multiple days down here helping me out. Probably have maybe 3 or 4 days max to wrap up the new props before clearing the trails and starting the mind-numbing battery installation phase. Last year required well over 300 AAs, 50 AAAs, 120 9vs and a myriad of other formats – with all the new props those numbers are going to jump significantly. Note, things would go a LOT faster if the younger generation(s) would stop sucking on batteries causing that #$%@#%@#$# little screw to be on all the battery compartment lids. Fortunately in all this chaos, I have been able to get in a little birding…
You might have noticed I am back to using my injured elbow…how about we just keep that to ourselves for now, first rule of Fight Club – “Don’t talk about the elbow”. While I toil away, Brad is stepping in to once again throw me a lifeline with one of his birding adventures. He is currently out in the field on assignment, so responses will be dependent on his connectivity – if we are lucky he will stumble upon some forgotten jungle tribes with Internet access points and let us know how it is going. Well, “I Bis” be getting back to the haunt work.
Take it away Brad…
I think I’m finally beginning to understand why Brian has such a backlog of bird stories. When he and Linda travel south during the winter, he racks up 200+ birds per “vacation.” Jan and I encountered 56 on our trip to Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina last February. As I was reviewing photos for other stories, I noticed this unassuming bird in the background of many of the photos. I started writing this story just after our trip. I guess it was on my keyboard too long because in the meantime, Brian published a story on this exact same bird (link here). Well, not the precise bird, but a bird of the same species. So, what to do, what to do . . . Should I scrap it or continue writing about the same bird, but with a different perspective and habitat? After a week or so I chose to continue the story.
I have to admit that initially, I was going for the herons and egrets. But our featured bird today is no less exciting than those are. Granted, its name is grander than the lighting in these photos allows. Jan and I found these wading birds very early in the day, less than an hour after sun-up.
Hit the jump to read more about our pink legged friend.
The White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), or Ibises if you prefer, wades around shallow waters looking for something to eat or to feed their families, much like the Snow Egret or the Little Blue Heron. They are fairly easy to identify. Other than the normally snow-white feathers, White Ibis have a downward curving bill, and bright pink-ish/orange bill and legs. I think I completely ignored them because we didn’t see them flying or making dramatic stabs at the water. Until now.
We were lucky enough to have arrived early while the Ibis were near the elevated viewing platform. It’s not that they leave when the sun is fully up. That’s when the other tourists all show up and it’s hard to be in a position to see some of the native behavior. Ironically, nearly directly behind this Ibis is the busy causeway bringing in cars from the highway. In fact, all of the photos from this story were taken at this one location. Jan and I have seen White Ibis picking up french fries at Walt Disney World. However, that didn’t seem like their “natural” habitat. The Ibis at WDW were able to fly away if they wanted to (no cages or netting), but an Ibis eating a french fry just seemed wrong. Especially without catchup or BBQ sauce on it. We found White Ibis on both the saltwater tidal marshes of Huntington and wading around the brackish water.
By now you may have noticed a few photos featuring a White Ibis and a Little Blue Heron. I found a paper online (written for the National Park Service in the 1970s) saying Little Blues tend to feed better when in the company of a White Ibis. The White Ibis seems to have a good foraging strategy. Little Blues often seek them out to “follow them around” the shallows looking for food. The Ibis doesn’t seem to care that the Little Blue is nearby. Maybe in tandem they both scare up more food than one could on its own? I didn’t really pay that much attention at the time. But if anyone out there is itching to spend grant money to study the issue, please contact the Intrigued Legal team with opportunities.
Female White Ibis usually select the nesting site and build the nests. The male doesn’t just sit back and watch however. He gathers most of the nesting material and the female does all of the arranging. Does this stick look better over by the coffee tables or by the windows? The male White Ibis is very protective and vigorously guards the nest so other birds won’t steal any sticks. He will also aggressively defend against advances from other males during nesting and egg laying season.
Parents share the incubation duties, taking turns gently sitting on the eggs. The clutch of 2-5 eggs hatches in about 21 days. Both parents take turns throwing up (regurgitating) food for the new chicks. Little ones hang around the nest for a few weeks. Chicks can make short flights in 4-5 weeks and are capable of sustained flight after about 6 weeks. Many leave the colony at 7 weeks and begin to forage with other adult Ibis.
White Ibis babies are hatched with a straight bill. The curve doesn’t begin to develop until they are a couple of weeks old. Parents may continue to feed their young for 40-60 days after they leave the nest (this may sound familiar to parents of Millennials or Gen-Z), but aren’t usually the primary source of food.
Their favorite foods are insects and crustaceans. An Ibis will feel around the soft muddy bottom with their bill slightly open looking for a meal. When they feel something move, they snap their bill shut and usually swallow it on the spot. Unless they bring up too much mud with dinner, then an Ibis will take the time to wash it off before eating it. Rather civilized, don’t you think?
The White Ibis will remove the claws from crabs or crayfish by smacking them on the surface of the water before swallowing. With a proper food supply, White Ibis can expect to live up to 16 years in the wild.
As I mentioned earlier, I almost ignored the photos of these birds. They weren’t showing any interesting feeding habits. None had taken off, flown, or landed while we were standing on the platform. They were doing their very best to not be noticed. And it almost worked . . . right up until this one noticed me noticing it.
I think my camera may have been annoying this one, it seemed to be keeping both eyes on me as I ran up the shutter count.
Thank you for reading. If you want to see more White Ibis photos from our South Carolina winter escape, please visit here.
Credits:
Thanks again to Jan and Allyson for proofreading and editing. Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this article.
Life Intrigued 