White-faced AND Glossy Ibis at Anahuac
May 2, 2021 ~ All this rain! We can’t go out and chase birds but at least I can write about them! On April 27, Bill Maroldo and I made a trip to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. It was properly overcast and our goal was to check on the nesting White-faced and Glossy Ibis on the back side of Shovler Pond. We hadn’t been since late February when we stopped by on the way the Smith Oaks. Not much was going on then. I did find one image I processed that day that might have foretold things to come.
Juvenile Glossy Ibis from Feb 2021
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2500 sec f/6.3 ISO 800
Identifying Glossy Ibis from White-faced Ibis out of breeding season is difficult and we do have mixed flocks here along the Texas Coast. But I am pretty sure this is a juvenile Glossy Ibis I saw in February. He has white above and below but not behind the eye. And a brown eye.
It was rather remarkable because the White-faced Ibis have been the more numerous at Anahuac for the last several years. That was certainly my impression in 2018 when I wrote Sorta-kinda Sunny Day at Anahuac and even in 2019 for White-faced Ibis at Anahuac. Last year at Anahuac at Last showed a couple of Glossys and even one photo of the two together. Which might be a hybrid with the Glossy after all. What do you think?
White-faced Ibis
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2500 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
The familiar White-faced Ibis has white ALL around his face. Top, bottom and behind. His eye is more red. Now, these characteristics are for this time of year and indicate breeding colors. The rest of the year the white fades and he has more pinkish skin surrounding his eye. Or her eye as the sexes look the same.
Gloss Ibis
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/5.6 ISO 1000
The Glossy has the same body colors but the white is above and below the eye, with no white behind. It does not surround their eyes. Which are more brown than red.
Cousins …kissing cousins?
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2500 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
And sometimes you can get them both in the same frame. These were nesting not together but very near each other and the White-faced was definitely the aggressor when the Glossy got too close. Could be interspecific quarreling BUT all birds will chase off intruders they deem are a threat.
It has been reported that the White-faced and Glossy are interbreeding this year; hybrids are not unusual in such closely related birds. It may even be possible that a hybrid from previous years is breeding with a full Glossy Ibis or White-faced. Some mixed pairing seems to be going on, but it is very hard to observe from the ground as the nests are well hidden in the reeds.
White-faced Ibis with a regular, run-of-the mill stick for the nest
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
Most of the nest building is already done and we didn’t see too many carrying sticks. Just as we were leaving the last leg of the autotour around Shoveler Pond we did see a White-faced carrying a stick. He dropped into a nest very close to the road. The nests are deep in the reeds; usually you can only see a darkish spot where the female waits.
At the bird’s version of Home Depot
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
Soon he climbed out of the nest and flew off down the sloped embankment. We saw him poking around in the weeds at the edge of the water.
Hmm…
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
And here he comes with a stick.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
He circled around a bit to land facing the wind and slowly dropped into the nest site.
In the flowers….
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
And after a short while he was off for another stick. This time he tried the embankment ahead of us. Bill had pulled the truck off the road a bit and we were standing around on the pavement watching this one bird do his work.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
We watched as he brought YUGE sticks.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
It was a real struggle to get the bigger sticks down in the reeds. There is some foreshortening going on from our angle of view, but still. It is a thicket out there.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1000
And he brought whole branches trailing vegetation….
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1000
And mouthfuls of materials… We were just walking back and forth trying to stay out of each others way on the road. And it went on non-stop.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1000
He worked both sides of the road and sometimes even went across the canal looking for material. I have always wondered about the stick selection process. Does he just bring what should be useful and she works it into the nest? Or is there some sekrit communication going on about what is needed?
Some literature says they bend the reeds over and weave them together, adding sticks and material to make a cup for the 3-5 eggs. Generally, they use material at hand to construct a nest in the marsh. Other White-faced Ibis nest in trees and even on the ground.
We have White-faced Ibis year-round but some winter in Mexico and along the coast of Central America. Others will migrate north and breed in the Great Pains and as far north as Montana.
The Glossy Ibis is much more restricted; we have them year-round as well but some migrate across the Gulf from the coastal regions of Mexico and the Florida population does migrate up the coast of the US as far as the New England states. I think the distribution of the Glossy into our area is fairly recent; the Texas Breeding Bird Atlas does not even have an entry for the Glossy and that source hasn’t been really worked on since 2002.
Impressive haul !
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1000
I have no idea what is going on. He was bringing masses of vegetation; it reminded me of Puffins and their mouthful of little silvery fish! I have watched a LOT of birds bringing sticks but this was new.
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2000 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
And it went on and on. My first image of this guy with a stick was 12:33pm. And the last was 1:23pm. He was STILL at it but I was exhausted. We were both using the little Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PFs but even a light-weight lens gets heavy after almost an hour of constant use.
It was hard deciding just WHICH images to use to tell this story. I took well over 1000 images of this one bird…
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500 f/5.6 PF ~ 1/2500 sec f/6.3 ISO 1250
Unlike other rookeries, at Anahuac you really can’t observe the stick/material hand offs. The nests are too deep in the reeds and so it is extremely hard to see if he is building a nest with another White-faced or a Glossy or even a hybrid. There are hundreds of birds there and I don’t doubt it is happening. I just didn’t get to see it. Dang.
We did try the woodlot but it was crowded with birder/photographers and we only saw a few little colorful guys. That set-up needs some serious work to make it more useable; especially for photographers. I know, always whining about something! Truth is, we don’t have a lot of patience for the little birds.
Looks like the rain has gone and today will be sunny. I can work on photos or… play my new game Planet Zoo. Are you going out today? Have you been to Anahuac lately? Did you get a photo of the Least Bittern that flew away from us twice? Let me know in the comments below.
And thanks for stopping by; I love to hear from my readers.
