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The White Ibis is a very common bird in Florida. Most of these birds migrate to Florida for the winter months from up north, but we do have many resident Ibis that stay here year round. In the fall we can see the flocks of Ibis increasing as we get closer to winter. During the summer months it is common to see small flocks of these birds around our house, maybe 2 to 8 birds to a flock. Now that we are in mid October, our small flock is now numbering between 60 to70 birds. I know in years past it has been common to see flocks of 120+ birds in our back yard.
****The picture above is of about 2/3 of the flock. Since they were so spread out along the lake bank, it was impossible to get them all in the picture.***
The Ibis like to feed on small fish, frogs, grubs and small reptiles. We regularly see these birds searching for grubs in the yards around our neighborhood. When an Ibis is born their feather will be a brown color and as they age the feather will change to white. It is always easy to tell the young birds in a flock by this coloration.
During mating season the legs and bill of these birds will become bright red or orange and are quite beautiful. They will build nests in trees which are in close proximity to water for gathering their food for the young. Typically they will lay 3 to 5 eggs in a season.
The White Ibis have two close relatives which we will see on occasion. One is the Glossy Ibis which look black. Their feathers are a dark glossy black color. This relative spends most of their time in the marshy areas and is seldom seen out in open areas or on beaches. The other relative is the Scarlet Ibis which are pink in color much like a Flamingo. It is very rare to see a Scarlet Ibis, but it does happen. The Scarlet Ibis is more common in South America but occasionally will make it into Florida.
Sincerely,
Sean Allen
President
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