Ibis

Three ibises have visited a lagoon on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. They appear to all be juvenile White-faced Ibises.

Now, this is exceedingly rare. There appear to be only two times before that a similar visit has happened anywhere in the Central Kootenay. Range maps show a very small breeding population in extreme southern Alberta and that is it for all of Canada.

The three ibises seemed to ignore humans, although whether that is their nature, or because they are young, or because we were quiet and distant isn’t clear. Rather, they spent their time feeding, using their long beaks to probe the bottom of the lagoon.

At one point, all three gathered on the far side of the lagoon.

But, most of the time, two stuck together as they probed the bottom with their bills. The third ibis generally wandered about the lagoon on its own. It is seen below, flying.

If getting decent pictures of an exceeding rare bird were not enough, consider the likelihood of also getting a close shot of one of them lifting off.

In fact, the unusualness of this demanded another view slightly later in the flight.