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| White-faced Ibis (not that you can tell) |
I had made two loops of the Wildlife Drive as well as walked a couple of trails, had about 60 species, and was close to the exit when I got an alert that a White-faced Ibis was off the north dike, close to where the recent Red-necked Phalarope had been seen for a couple of weeks. There are few things more aggravating than 6 miles of one-way dirt road with a speed limit of 15 mph when you are going for a rare bird. It took me about a half hour to get back to where I had just been. And it wasn't as if I hadn't been looking for a WFIB. In the perimeter ditch on the outside of the north dike were about 50 ibises and I looked every one of them in the eye. But this ibis was standing in some reeds on the other side and was easily overlooked.
I actually, in my haste and distraction, overshot the mark and realized that by concentrating on not speeding I had passed the spillway. I parked the car and walked back about 1/4 mile at first only seeing the terns and gulls that usually roost at the spot. Then I saw two ibises. I walked toward them, put down my scope and one of them flew away! The remaining ibis continued to feed and came out a little into the shallow water. I scoped it, but, ironically, in the strong sunlight, I couldn't see a thing on it. It was just a silhouette of an ibis in the harsh light. After a minute or so of picking at the water, it turned its head and I saw it--red eyeball! That's the field mark you need, since the "white-face" of a White-faced Ibis isn't always so obvious. After a little more observation I was able to see some white around the eye, but not well enough to distinguish it from its more common glossy cousins. But then again I saw the red eye and was reasonably satisfied I had the bird. I took photos but, as you can see, at that distance, in that light, no details, much less field marks, were picked up by the camera. After about 5 minutes, the bird squawked, lifted off and flew toward Tuckerton.
White-faced Ibis was my 400th bird for the year and my fourth ibis of the year (Glossy in NJ, White in NJ & FLA, and Scarlet in T&T). While I was watching the ibis, a Willet came in a fed with it. The only Willet of the day when last week they were ubiquitous. But, I suppose, since they are local nesters, they've moved out already, making room for the birds coming down from the Arctic.
My list for 24 miles (3 loops) of Wildlife Drive:
62 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 100
Mute Swan 33
Wood Duck 2 Exit Pond
American Black Duck 2 Dog Leg
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 60
Snowy Egret 20
Little Blue Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 50
White-faced Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 10
American Oystercatcher 9
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Willet 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Least Sandpiper 50
Semipalmated Sandpiper 700
Western Sandpiper 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 50
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 75
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Least Tern 2
Gull-billed Tern 2
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 50
Black Skimmer 15
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Heard, Jen's Trail
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 Leeds Eco Trail
Eastern Phoebe 1 Heard, upland
Eastern Kingbird 1
Blue Jay 1 Heard, parking lot
crow sp. 3
Purple Martin 20
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 1 Heard, upland
Tufted Titmouse 1 Heard, upland
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Heard, Akers Trail
House Wren 2
Marsh Wren 4
Carolina Wren 2 Heard
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Heard, upland
Gray Catbird 7
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 50
Common Yellowthroat 3 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 4
Chipping Sparrow 1 Heard, parking lot
Song Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 1 Heard, upland
Northern Cardinal 1 Upland section
Indigo Bunting 1 Upland section
Red-winged Blackbird 10
American Goldfinch 2
Super!
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