White Ibis in Philadelphia
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Jul 15, 2011 | by Adrian Binns
A juvenile White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) was found at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum on Wednesday evening, July 13. As of July 17 the bird was still there, probing the shallows and muddy edges of the impoundment where it could be seen feeding on a variety of aquatic invertebrates including some truly long worms!
This is the first Philadelphia record of this southern species in 31 years, and only the fifth ever for Philadelphia – all of them at John Heinz NWR.
White Ibis breed in the southeastern United States and some are known to wander north during the summer. They are considered rare-accidental visitors in Pennsylvania, and nearly all birds reported in the state were single immatures. Young birds, start out with a brown plumage on their upper wings and neck and gradually over the course of their first year replace the brown feathers with white ones. Adults are all white with the exception of black wing tips.
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Hi Adrian,
Thought you might be interested in this watercolor and field sketches I did of the ibis last Friday here.
This also gives me a chance to thank you for your incredible patience pointing out the Connecticut Warbler at Magee Marsh last May. I and my wife were some of the many people there who found it thanks to your help.
Hi Ken,
Thank you so much for putting me onto your sketches. I am so glad that you got to see the ibis at Tinicum and draw it – marvelous. I hope that you get to spend more time there it is a terrific place.
As for Magee Marsh – isn't that the best place? So glad you introduced yourself and got to see that sulker!
A