ML479740151
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age and sex
- Juvenile, Unknown sex - 1
Media notes
Preening, tail shake
Observation details
Thanks to whoever helped me get on the bird!! Parked at Picnic Area 9, slowly walked down the main White Trail until the creek. Then slowly and carefully followed the creek until approximately (39.9565098, -75.4390222), when another birder on the other side of the creek pointed me to the ibis. I was on the same sandbar as the WHIB as it foraged, sticking its beak into the mud and slurping whatever invertebrates it could find while walking along the rocks. An AMRO-like foraging technique was observed, where it tilited its head so that it could see the ground and the sky simultaneously. I recorded countless videos of this, despite the bird being behind lots of vegetation most of the time. It preened multiple times while I was there, sometimes putting its wings in the air for a few seconds. While it was here, a BEKI decided to make an appearance. The rattling calls made the WHIB stop for a couple of seconds, then go right back to foraging. BEKI made a very close appearance when it flew right over the creek, probably ten feet away from WHIB. After about thirty minutes, it decided to cross the fallen log and go downstream. The bird first flew onto the log, then disappeared onto the other side. I cautiously followed the trail and found it foraging on the sandbar (rockbar?) on the other side. At this point, it stood on one foot—the left one—and preened, sticking its wings behind itself, stretching and what looked like yawning, and then went back to foraging, continuing on its way downstream. About twenty minutes later, it decided to forage on the other side of the creek on the rocks. It would stick its bill into the rocks searching for whatever invertebrates might be inside. I believe I saw it catch a crayfish, and probably caught a lot more that I couldn't see. It then flew onto a log and preened for a few seconds, looking into it like a large woodpecker presumably for insects. It then walked away and disappeared into the forest. Quite an unusual sighting first by Jeff Hapeman on August 27, refound by Ross and Melissa Gallardy on August 29, then today by BQ and Chad Hutchinson. Juvenile, probably first-year, never took a moment to acknowledge our presence, never looked me in the eye to let me know I was being too loud. With that being said, I was moving very slowly and cautiously in case of flushing. Just a little bit lost, eh? I suspect this bird might be the offspring of one of the south Florida pairs, as they are known to be quite accustomed to humans. Or it could just be a young bird that hasn't learned to be afraid of humans yet. I heard that the New Jersey WHIB population skyrocketed this year, and the odds that one young one gets lost somewhere like this aren't impossible. I think these videos are especially useful in comparing the behaviour to the typical WHIB foraging technique. DelCo Year Bird #149
Technical information
- Camera
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 99.73 MB