Three Birds of Note: Ibis & Pelicans

This glossy ibis was one of four that visited the millet late last week. By Saturday morning, they were accompanied by an equally rare relative, a pair of white-faced ibis.

Birding is all about timing. Right place, right time. And speaking of time, I just haven't had much to report on several exciting visitors over the last several days. But before I do, some backstory . . .

Millet by Thursday afternoon
(note egrets in mud to right of channel,click to enlarge)

Last Thursday, we started the West pump in an effort to expose more "mud" in what was 40-acres of millet last fall. We were at a tipping point. What might have been 4-8" of water over 20 acres to start the day shrunk to maybe half as much water over half as much area over the course of the entire day of moving water.

Our goal in pumping this unit at this point in the season is to expose more soil to direct sunlight because even a few inches of water can prevent the germination of the desirable vegetation we are trying to promote. It's somewhat of a cat and mouse game with precipitation.

This stage of a drawdown tends to be pretty dynamic -- not only in terms of the change in water levels, but in how the wildlife responds. I unfortunately couldn't be there myself, but Roy tells me that by early afternoon, the dwindling water was simultaneously visited by 146 great egrets (he counted!) and four individuals that literally had cars pulling over on the Route 2 overpass. Glossy ibis are known for their curved bills and their propensity to East Coast living. This burgundy to black wader looks like something out of Dr. Seuss, and it typically resides along the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to Florida, into the Caribbean and even Central and South America. But according to the ODNR, this species may not make it into Ohio for multiple years at a time, so seeing four at once (three in one blurry camera frame) was pretty exciting!

Eager bird watchers (apparently alert even when driving by at 65 mph) congregated on the shoulder of our exit with spotting scopes from Thursday until Saturday morning -- when the ibis ultimately pulled out. Fresh rains pushed the water up another few inches, making a mealtime dip uncomfortable even for the larger egrets. [They are like walking staff gauges; great egrets only like water <6" deep, while great blue herons will frequent water up to 12" deep.]

But before the rains fell, one particularly enthusiastic and seasoned birder from Cincinnati confirmed Roy's hunch. Four ibis had become six, and the last two to join the party were an even rarer visitor, the strikingly similar white-faced ibis. The two share feeding behaviors, and both apparently like to wander far afield of their typical range. The white-faced is widely distributed west of the Mississippi, and even takes up year-round residence in mid- to southern South America. Unfortunately for us, they don't like to have their pictures taken!

Documented on "East Medusa Marsh"
through former site Aves.net

One final birding note worth noting: as we closed up shop for the evening today, we were treated to a flyby from three of the biggest birds one can see in Ohio: the American white pelican. With a wingspan up to 9.5', they are tough to miss, but again, they are not a common sight in the Buckeye State. I have come across historical photo evidence that they have been documented on our East Marsh in the past. While they seemed to give it a look (breaking their wings to interrupt their telltale glide), they apparently had their minds set on something even further east -- even further from their typical range.

Pretty neat stuff.