VA Birders,
Many thanks to Laura Catterton for her update on the White Ibis at
Manassas Battlefield. Any more sighting reports would be appreciated,
especially by those of us who would like to go and see this bird if it
remains until the weather cools a bit.
For those who might be interested, this is the third sighting of a White
Ibis in Northern Virginia of which I am aware. According to my records, the
first White Ibis I saw in Virginia was a bird at Belle Haven Park in Fairfax
Co. on July 3, 1987. I also saw one at a small water retention pond at an
industrial park in eastern Loudoun (or western Fairfax) Co. on August 1,
1989. If memory serves me correctly, both of these birds were juveniles or
immatures, and the second bird remained at the same pond for at least a week
or 2.
Now that White Ibis are reportedly nesting in Virginia--at Fisherman's
Island NWR and possibly also at Eastern Shore of VA NWR (and Ned Brinkley can
correct me if I am wrong), it seems likely that we could find more White Ibis
up here, especially in late summer and fall.
Meanwhile, for anyone going to the VA Eastern Shore who would like to see
more White Ibis, the best spot I have found to look for them is Ramp Road
Pond at Eastern Shore of VA NWR in the late afternoon or early evening. In
fact, I have seen them there as late as early October, during the Eastern
Shore of VA Birding Festival.
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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