White-faced Ibises

White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi).  These unique looking wading birds are normally seen wintering along the Texas Gulf Coast.  However during the spring of 2010 and 2011 these appeared at the water treatment ponds at Eldorado, Texas.  Again, those ponds have become a mecca for unusual birds to show up.  It is one of my favorite birding sites.

White-faced Ibises

White-faced-Ibis

White-faced Ibis

White-faced Ibis

Mother and Juvenile

As you can see, their feathers have a irredescent, glossy sheen.  They tend to change hues with the lighting.  One distinguishing feature is the white surround at the base of the bill.  It helps in the identification from the Glossy Ibis, which doesn’t have such a feature.

The in-flight pictures were shot with my Canon 7D with 100-400mm lens at shutter priority.  On the others I attached my 500mm lens with 1.4 tele-converter and hand-held using aperture priority.

Enjoy these images, and click on any one to see some enlargements.