Fighting Ibis

Is there a bird that is more synonomous with Florida than the ubiquitous White Ibis?  I think not, unless perhaps it's the brown pelican.  It seems like you can't drive more than a mile without seeing the familiar pink face, curved bill and glossy white feathers of the ibis - poking in lawns for larvae or along canals and drainage ditches looking for insects and fish.  They are excellent subjects for close up photos with their pink faces and bright blue eyes ... and this time of year the soft pink changes to more of a scarlett color, showing that they are in the mood for love.  

All of that as a lead up to the fact that I was planning to blip an ibis before I leave FL, and was just waiting for a nice close up of that scarlett face and those snazzy scarlet gams.  But when a little scuffle broke out, it was "blip in the bag" for me today.  I'm guessing that these may be two males (the males and females are indistinguishable) based on the fact that they were really going at each other, repeatedly.  Lots of opportunities to get some nice action shots - and no ibis were injured in the making of today's blip!

Tomorrow I am off to Merritt Island NWR for two days.  My last trip to the east coast of FL and I am looking forward to taking LOTS of photos.  Now, my dilemma will be whether to post a #Blipfotoforever selfie or a cool bird.  Like many of you, I was thrilled to see Joe Tree's post today.   And I hope you'll all stay here to see what develops over the weeks to come.  It's quite a community we've all shared here - I for one am not willing to give up on it.  

Gosh, in two weeks, hubs and I will be enroute to NJ, complete with a pissed-off calico cat who will be riding "shotgun" in the car with us.  Someone will need sedatives ... not sure if it's me or the cat.  

Biggest news of the week for me personally is that two of my three "besties" are making a last-minute trip to FL next week!  Peg and Kura are flying in from NYC on Tuesday and staying until Friday.  They've promised to help us finish any unopened bottles of wine and even to pack some boxes.  Hopefully the latter before the former...  Good times ahead!  

Be well, people.
Debbi