May can be an amazing month. Tulips are up. Eager gardeners are preparing flower beds. Checking to see if the lawnmower works for another season is on many minds. Reluctant leaf buds reveal their beauty with a green hued energy never to be rivalled the rest of the year. Poplar fluff and catkins blow with the strong southwest winds. With those winds, the arrival of an amazing bird to many parts of Alberta captures the birdwatcher’s attention.
The White-faced ibis was first identified in 1941, right in the wonderful community of Rosebud. Thirty years later ornithologists noted that their range had expanded right across the prairies, with established breeding colonies located in Frank Lake and Pakowki Lake. A potpourri of feather colors greets the observer and when caught at just the right angle, light and while in flight, lasting photographic memories are truly created. Of note is the long curved bill, an effective tool for probing the mud and silt flats for crustaceans, insects larvae and leeches. Small fish, frogs, snails and earthworms are readily added to the menu of this ibis. Breeding adults have reddish legs, as well as a bare patch of pink skin in front of the eye bordered in white.
Wetlands including storm ponds such as the one at Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Provincial Park has been used as foraging grounds. There, the ibis will often be nestled in the bulrushes along the shore edge, making them more difficult to see. Elaine and I normally see groups of four of five in flight or feeding. The largest flock we’ve seen would number sixty-five, all feeding together at Sheperd Slough in southeast Calgary during late September of 2023. Observations of up to ten thousand have been made in the United States. The range of this marvelous bird continues to move north in Alberta. Bear Lake, located near Grande Prairie has noted observations and to the east, a slough along Highway 28, between Bonnyville and Cold Lake provided one birder, the opportunity to see an ibis. Climate change does indeed impact the ibis. Droughts and floods will impact migratory path changes. With southern Alberta experiencing drier conditions, the expectation is that ibis will continue to move north to seek suitable habitat to both forage and raise the next generation.
A priority of course for adult ibis is to generate the next generation, much of what is done in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In mid to late September, the chance of seeing much larger flocks occurs as the ibis group together for their migration down to the Texas Panhandle and beyond. Fortunately the North American ibis population is over one million and Albertans have the good possibility of seeing these marvelous birds.
When I think of “our” ibis, my thoughts move to ancient Egyptian times. No less than six million sacred ibis mummies are believed to be in the countries ancient catacombs. Scientists believe ibis were “farmed: for sacrifice to the god, Toth, the god of magic, wisdom and writing eons ago. The species used in Eqypt was the Sacred Ibis, aptly named. Thankfully our White-faced ibis didn’t suffer such a fate and these exotic looking birds are our gifts of nature we can truly appreciate.
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