Hello all - here are the specifics regarding the immature White Ibis seen at Ottawa N.W.R. on Sunday, Nov. 06, 2011.

   The bird was originally found by Donna Kuhn and it was standing out on a spit of land in Moist Soil Unit #5 - which is in the back section normally off-limits to the general public - other than for the monthly census team and the monthly Auto Tour. This is the same impoundment which held the large flock of Hudsonian Godwits recently. The bird was first seen at 3:55pm and was observed in great detail for well over a half an hour by Donna Kuhn, Ed Pierce, Jim Reyda and myself. The bird was temporarily lost when the whole flock of gulls & Dunlins that it was resting with were spooked. This caused the ibis to land farther away near the dying lotus plants. The bird then walked into the lotus patch and could not be refound. As we had hoped, an adult Bald Eagle flew over and spooked everything up, including the ibis. It now landed back on the sandbar in plain view at a distance of approx. 150 yards. At around 4:30pm, the bird took flight again, flew about
 200 yards south and joined a flock of Tundra Swans and proceeded to feed vigorously. Our attention then turned back to the pair of Hudsonian Godwits and when we looked back to find the ibis it had moved again and was not refound, so we were not sure in which direction the bird departed, if at all.
   Overall, the bird was drab brown, with white leading down from the throat to the belly, and a white shoulder strap leading over the wing. Legs were pale gray, and the beak was strongly de-curved and orange leading up into the facial area. When in flight, from above, the bird had white on the top of the tail that led about 1/3 of the way up the back from the tail. 
   As none of us had any photo equipment, no photos were obtained. Bird was observed at length with a 60-power spotting scope being the best optics and in very good late afternoon light.

Hope this helps & hope others can re-find it! - Douglas W. Vogus

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