A few nice birds have been added to the year list over the past couple of days, as the strong winds and odd heavy showers have brough a few migrating birds down to the reserve. Our first Swift was hunting insects over the loch early this week and a Little Gull has been regular from Tower Pool hide. The absolute highlight of the week was the brief arrival of three Glossy Ibis on the reserve. Glossy Ibis look like a large, black Curlew, and usually live in southern Europe and Africa. They were spotted sitting on the low ground by a visitor on Wednesday afternoon. They stayed on the reserve for around ten minutes before flying off towards St Combs. Much to everyone's delight they then reappeared in the evening, for just long enough for Emma, Vicky and the volunteers to get a sighting of them (although despite everyone's best effort they didn't quite make it on the kitchen window list!). We think they were the same Glossy Ibis that were seen on the Donmouth in Aberdeen on Monday, where they stayed over night. Amazingly, one of them had a white colour ring on its leg and a bit of research by some local birders has revealed that it probably came from Cota Donana in southern Spain. Presumably they're either been blown off-course by bad weather, or have been caught up in the northerly migration of lots of other wadering birds and have just followed the crowd!
Think that was one taken in Spain- clearly much happier when they're somewhere warm! They've been around the Ythan today so we're keeping fingers crossed they head back this way on a day I'm actually on the reserve.
Beautiful bird!
Nice photo. Agree with Kath they do always appear to be clinically depressed - often nt helped by the drop of water or mud that always seems to be on the tip of their bills! Just waiting for Glossy to turn up here to complete the trio of Aussie Ibis (both white and straw-necked on the garden list!)
Dom
you realise you've got the only picture i've ever seen of a glossy ibis where it doesn't look depressed?? even the live birds i saw looked miserable!!