Two of a Kind

There are actually three kinds of Ibis in the United States; but only two are found in Florida, the White Ibis and the Glossy Ibis.  The third is the White-faced Ibis which is the western U.S. replacement for the Glossy Ibis.

The White Ibis was fairly common and in abundance around our stay in Okeechobee, and I’ve already shared a few photos of them.  We actually had one foraging in the empty campsite just behind ours.  He gave me a fine pose!

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White Ibis

 

You really could find the White Ibis just about anywhere.  I came out of the grocery store and whipped out my cell phone for this next ‘poor’ shot.

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White Ibis in strip mall parking lot

 

It was also common to see flocks of White Ibis.

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White Ibis

 

I liked the little fella in the next shot soaring with the White Ibis!

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White Ibis and bird friend

 

Out for a drive around one of Lake Okeechobee’s boat ramps, there was a large flock of White Ibis foraging in the grassy sand areas.  There were quite a few juveniles in this group.  The juveniles are not born white but eventually turn all white with black wing-tips when they reach adulthood.

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Juvenile White Ibis

 

While watching and taking photos of them, I sighted one with a snake or marine worm.  The snake/worm was still alive and squirming while the Juvenile White Ibis tried to figure out what to do with this fiesty snack.

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Juvenile White Ibis

The snake/worm decided to take a chance and go for the juvenile’s face.

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Juvenile White Ibis

The snake/worm’s head literally went to the juvenile’s beak and hit it. What a pretty strong snake/worm!

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Juvenile White Ibis

 

My final shot of the series shows the juvenile had quickly dropped the snake/worm and was giving it a once-over.  We never did see him pick it back up, he just kept looking at it and pondering.

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Juvenile White Ibis

 

The second Ibis was a new lifer for me, and I had quickly mentioned it in my Roseate Spoonbill post where a Glossy Ibis was in the background of a few of my Spoonbill captures.  At such a distance, I never got lucky on a full profile of one, just heads and tails.

Lo and behold, it was in the campground in the Preserve area where I saw a small flock fly in to feed a late afternoon and luckily several more late afternoons.  With their darkness and desire to stay hidden, I wasn’t so lucky in getting many shots while they were on the ground at their distance, but I did have fun with the challenge of their flight.

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Glossy Ibis

 

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Male Glossy Ibis in breeding plumage

 

 

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Glossy Ibis in flight at sunset

 

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Glossy Ibis on a cloudy late afternoon

 

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Glossy Ibis

 

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Glossy Ibis

 

What luck I felt to get both the White Ibis and Glossy Ibis while in Florida, with one being a new lifer!

 

 

 

 

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