Glossy Ibis

Stupid Boy!, last weekend, Clever Boy this weekend. We returned to the WWT reserve at Welney to continue the search for the Glossy Ibis where it had been reported as appearing sporadically last week. We arrived around ten and by two we'd been all round the reserve with no sign of the bird, but still plenty of other good stuff seen.

We decided on a final walk back to the farthest away hide where we'd started the day and where the Ibis had been seen yesterday. En-route Clever Boy Youngshanks who'd been monitoring the internet texted us with news that it was a bit closer at the Lyle hide, and as you can see it was.

Glossy Ibises are rare in Southern Europe, more in the Balkans and Middle East, most of which migrate to winter in Africa, so there was lots of talk in the hide, including from ourselves, that this was the first time most people had seen one.

Given the light and the distance from the bird, not a great picture but it deserves to be viewed in Large.