Tag Archives: white ibis

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A White Ibis at Carolina Beach

By Sally Siko

Check out this handsome White Ibis.
I spotted him last week while birding on Carolina Beach. I’d stopped off at Carolina Beach lake to take a quick peek at the water to see if there were any interesting or unexpected birds flying around when a small flock of Ibis’s flew in and landed in the drainage creek on the eastern side of the lake.
Although I’ve seen hundreds of Ibises this year these birds were just so beautiful that I had to grab a few photos 🙂



White Ibis’s are a year round resident of North Carolina and are most commonly found in our eastern coastal counties. During the breeding season they are known to nest on our barrier islands with other shorebirds near the lower Cape Fear river area.
Now that winter is here, you can find them grazing in farm fields and foraging for a meal in freshwater & brackish suburban ponds, and waterfowl impoundments.


An opportunistic hunter of the shoreline, these handsome white birds enjoy a varied diet of crayfish, crabs, frogs, minnows, snakes and even insects. Look for them in the grass along the waters edge and wading through shallow, show moving waters.



Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

By the way, I’ve added more that 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A White Ibis at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC

While birding on a recent trip to Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet SC I spotted a handsome White Ibis preening up in a tree.
It was cold and overcast outside but it was neat to be able to grab a few portraits of this beautiful white bird set against the pale grey sky.



When they’re not spotted in the trees along the waters edge, Ibis’s are most often seen wading in shallow water sweeping their head form side-to-side in search of food. Using their long, curved bills to probe into the mud, they are on a constant hunt for crabs, crayfish and other small crustaceans. Once a meal is caught, they’ll swallow their prey whole which is rather impressive given that much of their prey has a hard shell or pincers.



Ibis’s are a year round resident of the Carolinas and are a relatively common sight feeding along the shorelines of our coastal marshes and estuaries.
You can also spot Ibises foraging for food on suburban lawns and mudflats hunting for insects, frogs, snails, marine worms, snakes, and even small fish swimming in shallow water ponds or creeks.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my beloved beast, the mighty mirrorless @canonusa #r5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert

White Ibis fight at the Huntington Beach State Park

While birding at the Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet SC on this past weekend, I ended up with a ringside seat to a battle of two American White Ibises
Though it was a remarkable sight, this behavior is not unusual as male American white Ibises are known to be quite aggressive when defending their meals (and personal space!) against intruders.

Both Ibises lunged, stabbed and bit, often holding onto the others head or wings while clawing at each others bodies in a submission hold of avian sorts.
Several times one bird would give up yet the other would pursue it relentlessly, dive bombing and even chasing the weaker opponent on foot.
Eventually they called it a draw and walked away together (lol!) seemingly at peace at least until the next meal was found.

When they’re not fighting, White Ibises are highly sociable birds. They roost, nest and feed together in large flocks throughout the year.
Happily the numbers of American White Ibises residing in the Carolinas have been in the increase which is pretty neat!
They are a year round breeding resident of North Carolina and are most commonly found along our southeastern coastline, especially on our small offshore islands.
Look for them foraging (and yes, even fighting!) for a meal in shallow brackish, salt & freshwater open swamps, marshes and on mudflats during low tide.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty mirrorless miracle, the @canonusa
#R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

White Ibis at the Pea island NWR in eastern North Carolina

One of the first birds to greet my guests on the third day of the trip to the Pea Island NWR were these lovely White Ibises.
We stood on the bank of the North Pond for quite a while watching their antics as they squabbled with one another while foraging on the shoreline.



As seen here in this series of photos below, the juveniles are dressed in a brown, grey and white plumage while the adult Ibis sport that classic white and black color palate on their feathers.
Also if you look very closely at them you’ll notice that White Ibises have beautiful blue eyes.



Ibis nest in large colonies along the southern North Carolina coast between April and July. Their nests are made of sticks, grass and leaves, and can be found up in the tops of trees. Once their eggs have been laid, incubation can last up to 22 days with both parents sharing the responsibility in time spent on the nest. 
After hatching it will take up to 40 days or so for the chicks to gain their independence and are able to join the flock at large.

Pea Island NWR



It was neat to spend time with this small group of adult and juvenile Ibises. The younger ones seemed to pay attention to the behavior of the adults following them closely like shadows.
Wherever the adult Ibis would probe for a meal in the grass, the juvenile would do the same.
As the group and moved on to another spot, I thought to myself that the next generation of White Ibises appeared to be in good hands indeed.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

The White Ibis at the Pea Island NWR

Look out below…
This is an interesting bird that I saw last month at the Pea Island NWR, the White Ibis!


It was neat to see them flying overhead up until one decided to offload his last meal, lol!
*Check out the second photo in this post to see what I mean.
So very glad I wasn’t standing directly underneath them haha!



White Ibis’s are a year round resident of North Carolina and are most commonly found in our eastern coastal counties. During the breeding season they are known to nest on our barrier islands with other shorebirds near the lower Cape Fear river area.
When winter arrives, they also may be seen grazing in farm fields and foraging for a meal in freshwater & brackish suburban ponds, and waterfowl impoundments.



An opportunistic hunter of the shoreline, these handsome white birds enjoy a varied diet of crayfish, crabs, frogs, minnows, snakes and even insects. Look for them in the grass along the waters edge and wading through shallow, show moving waters.
And of course, make sure you look up occasionally to avoid getting splattered by their latest meal lol!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Juvenile shore bird ID in the OBX

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Just a couple of teenagers hanging out around the pond. Here is a White Ibis on the left and a Little Blue Heron on the right. I photographed them last week at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. They hunted together for about 10 minutes, never more than a few feet apart from one another. You may be asking why this particular bird is called a “little blue heron” when he’s clearly not blue. The color doesn’t fit does it? Well the reason is that this is actually a juvenile Little Blue Heron. The young ones are dressed entirely in white plumage during their first year, often showing splotches of gray-blue by their first spring The White Ibis? He’s brown. That makes no sense lol! Thats because this is a juvenile White Ibis. He’s covered in a mottled brown and tan feather pattern. From a distance it’s easy to mistake a juvenile White Ibis like this little one for a Glossy Ibis. The main thing to look for is that a Glossy Ibis lacks the white patch on the back (best seen during flight) and belly is entirely dark colored, not white or patchy tan. Swipe through the last two photos to see the adult White Ibis and an adult Glossy Ibis for comparison 🙂 Adult White Ibis’s are white birds with pink bills and legs. They’ve got Carolina Blue eyes and black tips on their wing feathers. While viewing from far away or in poor lighting conditions, the adult Glossy Ibis appears to be dressed in all black but if your able to get a closer look at one, you’ll see that they are actually a beautiful reddish-brown color with shiny iridescent bottle-green wings. Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa #5Ds

A post shared by Bird Watching N.C. (@birdwatching_nc) on

Birdwatching News, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

rare bird news in North Carolina : White Ibis sighting at Harris Lake park

I”m pleased to announce that eBird accepted my submission for a first White Ibis sighting at Harris Lake Park in New Hill N.C. from this past Friday.
This being a “rare bird” sighting, I made sure to provide photos for verification when I submitted the checklist so that the researchers at Cornell could properly document this event.

This new record was super exciting! I had just stepped onto the dock at the lake when a flock of Ibis’s took off right in front of me. I barely had enough time to bring my camera up to snap off a couple of photos before they were gone. So glad to capture this unexpected rare bird sighting. Another great example of how much fun birding can be. One just never knows what surprise is waiting on the wing.

-Sally Siko, Admin