ML20334361

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***MEGA Accidentally bumped into a group of birders randomly scoping the field from the entrance of the Lepelaarplassen. Realized they were looking for two "Zwarte Ibis", and got really excited. I first found a single bird, but got only brief looks as they were deep in the brush. An hour later both birds moved out to forage.
     On my first good looks, I quickly recognized the Glossy Ibis, though the birds seemed to be entirely black (including the bill and facial skin), perhaps blacker than American birds. These ibises first found about 1 week ago, from what other birders told me.

The Glossy Ibis has had a history of declining populations throughout Europe in the late 20th century, but the re-establishment of a colony in southern Spain has lead to increased numbers of wintering birds throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland where there have been over 20 records have been noted in 2010 alone. Breeding occurs near the wintering grounds, therefore it makes sense that this pair of Ibises should be on their way south towards Spain from the United Kingdom region.
^{Hudson N. & the Rarities Committee, Report on Rare Birds in Great Britain 2010, British Birds 104, pp 557-629}

Technical information

Model

FinePix S3280

ISO

200

Focal length

103.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.9

Shutter speed

1/420 sec

Dimensions

1908 pixels x 1430 pixels

Original file size

1.33 MB