Glossy Ibis

There was a bit of fuss amongst the birding community at Ham Wall this morning.  One smaller group (of perhaps 8 or so) were busy getting themselves ready to try to track down the Firecrest that, so say, had been seen at the adjoining Shapwick Heath reserve.  The majority were there for the pair of Glossy Ibises that had been spotted at Ham Wall itself.  Glossy Ibises are pretty rare in the UK, hence the excitement.

I left them to it, as it was awfully crowded on their viewing platform and settled down in a quiet hide elsewhere on the reserve.  A while later two large pterodactyl like birds flew over and landed not too far away from me - the Ibises.  I was able to enjoy them for a bit, before a steady stream of folk came to try to squeeze into the hide with their scopes, binoculars and cameras.  Having already managed to grab a shot of the birds I once again left them to it and made good my escape :-)

If you've ever been lucky enough to get a picture of one of these things, you will probably know that they are an absolute devil to process. The combination of reflective two tone feathers and dark colours really gives editing software a run for its money. 

I've ended up going for this shot of the bird in the air, even though it's effectively going away from the viewer, because you get to see the amazing plumage on the top of the wings.  What you can't see from this viewpoint is the chestnut colour of the bird's chest. This bird's neck and head have slight white streaks which indicate that it's not yet in its breeding season.