White Faced Ibis are large and imposing birds.
They are residents year round in Southern California,
although I rarely see them.
Finding this nesting colony,
was quite a treat.
White Faced Ibis have a migratory range that extends from Canada in the north, to Chile and Argentina in the south. I have seen and photographed them more in South America than I have here!
Cheers to you from the gorgeous and iridescent White Faced Ibis~
A rare sighting indeed, Cindy, and they are precious. I hope you are doing well.
Thank you for caring. They seemed to be a healthy colony. I know they face a multitude of threats დ
Thank you for raising awareness by providing us with these lovely snapshots.
You are very welcome Nicole დდ
Beautiful bird,almost prehistoric Cindy! Great discovery and shots!
Thanks Wayne. I was thrilled to find them. დ
Those beaks are really something! And the red and green iridescent feathers are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos of your discovery. 🙂
Thank you more for your kind appreciation Lynette & cheers to you დ
How beautiful!
When the sun hits their feathers directly, the iridescence shine into view and makes they truly beautiful. დ
And it’s like these birds agreed to do a photo shoot with you! Are they as calm as they appear?
No, they are not calm when humans are around. If you are still, quiet, and alone, they will be nervous around you, but not panic if you stay quiet and still დ
How striking they are!
Aren’t they amazing!!! დ
Incredible! The colors are extraordinary. Nature ceases to amaze! Great shots.
Thank you. Nature is a endless gift we are forever unwrapping დ
So true. Thank you for unwrapping and sharing with us.
Smiling დდ
Those are a beautiful and colorful Ibis birds. I have seen many in Australia particularly in Goldcoast and Perth but they are the dull black ones. They move closer to humans as they are asking for some leftovers.
Yes, I have photographed many of Australian White Ibis in Oz too. They are personable birds and amusing to watch დ
Wow.. So pretty.. The colors are fantastic..
In the shade, they look boring, but when then sun hits them? They glow! დ
A real beauty !!!
Yes, thank you. The sun brings out the color in their feathers დ
The colors only really shine in full sun დ
Beautiful, beautiful birds, the colouring of which looks similar to our Glossy Ibises.
Yes, these two varieties are really difficult to differentiate დ
Magnificent colored birds and amazing and stunning photos 😊. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you more for your thoughtful appreciation & cheers to you დ
The sunlight and the colors are a marvelous combo. Your skill rips off the occasion. Nicely done.
Ahhh, thank you very much! And you are right, this bird was built to shine in the sun! დ
What wonderful rich colours!
They are unusually subtle too aren’t they დ
A real treat for us, too, Cindy
Smiling. Very pleased you enjoyed Derrick დ
Your photography is so beautiful, Cindy. It’s great to see someone with a good eye taking full advantage of her opportunities and producing brilliant images. Thank you.
This lovely and thoughtful comment touched my heart Stuart. Thank you sincerely & be well my friend დ
Ibis I could come face to face with these beautiful birds. (≚ᄌ≚)ℒℴѵℯ❤
I wish I could make the introduction! დ
⌓⌓⌕(˃̴◡ुؔ՞ઁ)♡⃛
⌓⌓⌕(˃̴◡ुؔ՞ઁ)♡⃛ X2 დ
(●මᴗමσ)σணღ*
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I see birds here all the time that I’ve no idea exist! It’s wonderful.
Ahhh, you make me very happy I posted them! Thank you Emma & be well დ
Magnificent looking birds albeit with a wicked beak. Fabulous photos Cindy, you’ve really captured them in all their glory.
Thank you Sheree! I am most pleased you enjoyed them დ
Always love your photos Cindy
I am so glad you do, and thank you Sheree დ
Amazing and beautiful birds!
How is it the real beauties among us have no idea how beautiful they are? And these reclusive birds are nature’s sample. Great pics and what a find!
So true. Real beauty is natural, effortless and unselfconscious დ
Yes. Thank you. This is what birds are to me, amazing and beautiful დ
They are! Thank you დ
I <3 my friends who <3 birds დ
Thank you for treating us to this rare find. I love how the colors blend.
You are most welcome. They are a subtle and unusual color blend aren’t they დ
Wonderful. They might be rare for you, but they’re unknown to us, so what lovely souvenirs you were able to take when you saw these exceedingly handsome creatures.
Your lovely comment makes me very glad to have posted them. Thank you Margaret & be well my friend დ
WOW! These Ibis are so much different from the birds I’ve seen. Their long beaks, legs and multi colours are a treat to watch. You have done such an amazing job photographing them. Thank you for sharing your great shots. 🙂
You are a kind and thoughtful friend my friend. Thank you & stay well დ
That’s quite an interesting and beautiful feathered fellow, dear Cindy. Love the shine of his or her plumage.
Best wishes – stay safe, dear Cindy!
Direct sunlight brings out the glorious shine and the colors. You stay safe and well too my friend დ
As the old adage goes, If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” They certainly do.
Feathers look so much better on birds than on people! დ
Actually, humans look ridiculous in feathers. Animals are not here for human to be exploited by humans.
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they are rather elegant! waves.. sends virtual hug
They are elegant and I love that descriptor! Hugs flying back to you დ
amazing colors!
Aren’t they unique and beautiful დ
A treat indeed! Thank you for sharing this deliciousness with us, Cindy! 😍
You are most welcome Teresa and very pleased you enjoyed our feathered friends დ
He is a beauty. I’ve seen groups of Ibis fly by over the Rio Grande at dusk, but I’ve never seen then wading in the river or foraging.
I would love to see your flocks in flight. I have seen them before, they are quite distinctive with their long curved beaks დ
With thos long beaks they could be flying backwards in silhouette.
True, like tail feathers, in their jet stream!!!
Great pix, Cindy. The last few look like this guy was strutting for you like a runway model… he knows he’s looking good! 😉
Smiling. He is the best dressed avian on the runway! დ
It must be quite a rewarding experience to capture these rare birds. I have never heard of the white-faced ibis before. Looking at these marvellous birds was quite a visual treat, Cindy.
So happy to give a most deserved visual treat my friend and very pleased you enjoyed them დ
Cindy, what a wonderful post with such vivid photos of the birds with variegated colors. How delightful as a photographer to have creative moments such as these. Thank you for the enjoyment of your creative skills. Be well. oxox
Your very thoughtful comment added a smile to my Sunday! Thank you for your kindness Mary Ann დ
Cindy, my pleasure. I just love your photography. It reminds me of my niece Sally Rose Dolak who lives in Costa Rica and has blogged over the years. Her site is: https://www.puriscalproperty.com/ Have a good week of creativity. oxox
I just went to her site. She is truly talented and inspired. I told her I knew you! Stay safe and well Mary Ann დ
Thank you for this comment and for going to her site. She used to blog more frequently but now she and her husband are busy growing, harvesting and cooking their own food. Thank you for going to her site. Be well and have a good week. oxox დ
She is wonderful. And so are you. დ
Cindy, your comment is much appreciated. Sally does not always respond to my comments; however, I leave them anyway. Life in the tropics has two seasons: rainy and not rainy. I tend to wilt in humidity so I prefer my four seasons here. Be well and thank you again. oxox ❤️
I know the tropics. I always get coral cuts დ
Have you also lived in the tropics? I gather the coral is on the ocean side. Sally lives in Puriscal which I understand is inland.
Not lived, but traveled and gotten too many coral cuts.
I was happy to give up the humidity of the South and prefer the hot, dry weather we had in CO, NM and AZ. Upstate NY has four seasons. I can tolerate the humidity here. Be well. ox
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🙂
You brighten everyday with your beautiful photographs. What gorgeous birds. Thank you.
Visa versa 2UX2 (and The Chicklets of course! დდ
You certainly have beautiful locals, Cindy. 🙂 Your pictures make me envious, 😉
Have a great Sunday,
Pit
Your thoughtful comment makes me grateful. Thank you & have a wonderful week დ
What a treat to have them in your area Cindy! And I agree, the colors are beautiful and iridescent. 😍
Thank you Brad. They are shy birdies, so I rarely see them, making this a special treat დ
I’m happy for you. 😃
Smiling დდ
Wow I love the ibis, beautiful and amazing!
I <3 people who <3 Ibis! Thank you. დ
What an imposing and impressive bird! Wow! Thanks for the photos!
Thank you more for the kind appreciation დ
Their feathers are so beautiful. I love their shape/form as well. Great captures!
Thank you very much. It is interesting because in the shade they appear a rather dull brown, but in full shine they shine like iridescent jewels. დ
That last comment (feather and form) was me! Started a new browsing session and was not logged in.
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“Feather and Form,” is such a gifted way to describe birds. This is what they are დ
You’ve captured some excellent photos of them Cindy, well done.
Leslie xoxo
Merci beaucoup mon ami Leslie დ
Gorgeous images of the beautiful and exotic bird, Cindy!
So pleased you enjoyed him & thank you for letting me know! დ
What a beautiful bird. 🙂
Yes. Thank you Dani. Seeing birds doing well makes me happy დ
You bring us the world with your photography, Cindy! Lovely.
And the world brought me to you Rebecca, for which I am eternally grateful დდ
Amazing!!! Love these images of this exotic and beautiful Ibis. Thanks, Cindy.
Thank you more Isabel, for appreciating these feathered friends. Stay safe & well დ
They are exotic! The feather colors are very unique.
They are exotic and unique aren’t they. They have such a wide ranging migration pattern, from Canada to the tip of South America. Unlike me, birds fly for free! დ
Beautiful colors.
How are you???????
I’m doing fine. Back to a full schedule.
Thank God. Truly. There is a lot more to your story. Email me if you want. Or just rest and recuperate. Love to you დ
Wow!
I know. I wasn’t at all expecting to find this! დ
Wonderful fotos. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you more for appreciating დ
Cindy, Once again, thank you so much for these stunning photographs!
Thank you more my friend დ
Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Please enjoy these stunning photographs from Cindy Knoke.
I am so grateful for blogging because it connects me with creative and kind people like you Charles. Be well my friend დ
That was a real surprise to me, Cindy. I had no idea that Ibis live in Southern California. –Curt
I have seen the odd few at The Salton Sea, but this nesting site was a big surprise. They were almost extirpated from the state, but have made a comeback. People shot them and they ate poison. But they are doing better now დ
DDT? Like the brown pelicans? And hunters before we knew better I assume. Good to hear. –Curt
Yes, their eggs were damaged by DDT. Do you remember having DDT sprayed on ponds and rivers you played in as a kid? I do. We were to stay inside during the spraying, but then when we went out to find stuff in the ponds and streams, the DDT oil skimmed the surface of the water, and covered your hands and arms. I thought it was strange. Ibis also ate crustaceans, bugs and such, and accumulated other toxins. They are now doing much better.
The DDT was extremely limited in our area, Cindy. In fact, I don’t remember it. I first became aware of the damage it did when reading Rachel Carson’s book in the late 60s. I had actually used it in Africa once to keep army ants from invading out home when I was serving in the Peace Corps circa 1965-67. –Curt
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Wow! Look at those iridescent feathers!! What beautiful creatures.
Aren’t they stunners. Without sunlight, they look monochromatic დ
Wow! They’re stunning, Cindy. You’ve captured them beautifully.
Aww, thank you! You make me glad I posted დ
Lucky you! This is a gorgeous bird, unique in my world.
Thank you, Cindy! Keep documenting the Holler’s birds!
I will Resa. You stay safe and well my friend დ
She has an unusual lovely beak. Rare is the word no.☺
Yes, rare is word, no 😉 😉
What absolutely beautiful birds!!! Recently a new bird came to feast of our bird seed … shiny black, but his neck and head were a beautiful glowing blue. I Googled and found they are ‘Common Grackles’ … seemed a bit too common a name for such a gorgeous critter! But even he cannot compare to your White-faced Ibis! Thanks for sharing, Cindy!
Bird names are so idiosyncratic and funny. It must have been wonderful to be the first person to name a bird species. The grackle must have been common, ie., there may have been lots of them. They don’t show their splendor, commonly, but when the sun hits just right, at the right time, you can see the incredible beauty. They are currently a species in “deep decline.” So they are not common anymore დდ
Indeed, so! And, I wonder if birds think we are funny creatures for having to have a specific name for each and every sort. The grackle was so beautiful … as you say, the sun was hitting just right and he literally took my breath away! Given what we humans have done to this planet, it is a wonder any species still survive, but if we don’t change our ways and quickly, we will lose so many beautiful species of birds, animals, fish. Sigh.
I am fairly certain birds do think we are funny creatures. Which is why they spend so much of their lives surreptitiously people watching. They actually seem to watch us more than we watch them. They need to in order to survive, for all the reasons you just stated. Birds seem really puzzled by humans who are alone, stand still, and don’t talk, it must be unusual people behavior from their point of view 😉 😉
They’d be right … we really are funny creatures!
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Prost auf dich! Was für ein schöner Kerl oder Frauchen…
Lächelnd. Viel! Mann, Frau, wen interessiert das? Nur ein schöner Vogel. Ich hoffe du bleibst und nun mein Freund. დ
Beautiful species – thanks for sharing your sighting of them!
Thank you more for appreciating them დ
Extremely beautiful, you have such amazing wildlife!
Thank you. It is the best part of living here დ
Whoa, these are BIG birds! What a treat, finding a colony right in your back yard. Thanks for sharing them with us, Cindy!
I <3 my friends who <3 birds. Thank you for appreciating them Debbie & cheers to you დ
I’m guessing that his distant cousin is the Scarlet Ibis, that’s our national bird here in Trinidad… very beautiful…
The Scarlet Ibis is such an incredibly beautiful bird! I have never seen one. I would so love too!! დდ
Wonderful, Cindy! Such an interesting find…but then that’s your commitment to the “unfindable.” Bravo.
You are a genuine joy to know Sheila. Thank you დ
Back at ya, girl!
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Very cool. And to find a colony of them – even better.
Yes. I went back twice. They were involved in courtship so I was supernumerary which was a joy! 😉
Such beautiful birds. Their feathers are like a rainbow.
Yes, a subtle sort of rainbow. I love the colors too დ
Yes! Best to you, Cindy.
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Bootiful, gal.
Thanks for these, cause I’ll never see one in real life, bless you.
Thank you very much. You touch my heart my friend. I wish I could introduce you დდ
Amazing. Just amazing. 👏
Awwww…. truly honored John დ
I have never seen such beautiful birds. So colorful. Great shots, Cindy.
A beautiful, unique bird that you captured stunningly, Cindy, WOW! ❤️
Awww, thank you Donna. Very much appreciated დ
You are a lovely friend Marlene. Thank you & cheers to you დ
Wow, they’re so beautiful! 😀
I am so happy you think so and thank you! დ
Beautiful photos of this wonderful ibis! Our glossy Ibis here in Florida develops a beautiful blue facial border during breeding season.
Oh, I would love to see this!
I truly hope you will someday, Cindy! And maybe I’ll see the White-faced Ibis!
Deal!! Hope fate allows დდ
Yes! ☺️
Such a treat! Great photos!
These guys come in complementary colors–red and green! And the green has such a beautiful sheen:) Thanks for showing them to us, up close and beautiful!
Thank you more for appreciating them Kathy & cheers to you! დ
fantastic bird! great shots!
Thank you Rebecca & cheers to you დ
They look just like our Glossy Ibis. I love the way bright sunlight brings out their iridescent sheen and colouring.
Those colours!
Aren’t they subtle and beautiful დ
Wonderful and certainly iridescent, here we see the glossy ibis in the Doñana wetlands region but that seems to be their limited range. A very prehistoric bird, let’s hope their survival can be ensured.
They look like dinosaurs to me. I happy you have seen them and yes, I hope they continue to survive and thrive დ