Went out this afternoon in search of the adult Glossy Ibis. All the birds were clustered in the middle of the north shore and it was extremely windy. I went around the northwest corner as close as I could get overland and finally saw several Ibis at the eastern end of the bird groups. All the Ibis seen had red/brown/green colorations and the red skin patch with white lines around the eye was easy to see; I felt I saw an Ibis with a dark eye and no red skin patch below the eye but I could not get a photo at that distance so I am not going to report it. I changed my 7/10/18 eBird report to reflect indeterminate ID but left the pictures up for people to see.

The reference to Jay’s 12:23 PM email is forwarded below.  Jay refers to a single juvenile on the south shore, (presumably White-faced but???) before he left, the one that I spotted and referred to in my 4:40 email today.  And the one Janet photographed. During my time checking out that bird there were no other ibis on the south shore but that one. The one in Janet’s photo.  When the bird flew west than north I left the group, then  they drove to  NW end of the Reservoir.  The two white-faced ibis that I put on eBird list were a long ways away to make a positive  judgement so I called them white-faces.  You are correct, I did make a incorrect judgement  and [assumed] the first bird I saw and the one in Janet’s was a glossy. I’m still not convinced by looking at Sibley, one way or another.Thanks for your perspective, it made me dig alot deeper. And it really is appreciated. 

BOB

Begin forwarded message:

On Monday, July 9, 2018, 12:23 PM, Jay Carlisle wrote:

Not sure of the current status but before Heidi & I left, the Glossy flew with 4 adult White-faced to the N edge of the reservoir – presumably joining 4 other ibis we’d seen over there from a different angle.  There was a single juvenile ibis (presumably White-faced but ???) that stayed behind on the S shore – of course, that was 2+ hours ago and birds can fly so they’ve likely traded places a few times since then 🙂
Jay

On Monday, July 9, 2018, 10:24:25 AM MDT, Bob Perata wrote:

Glossy Ibis is still out there by itself.  Am parked st the overflow where the cut is on the large berm.  On the road that goes all around to the east end. 

Bob,Boise, Idaho 

On Jul 9, 2018, at 9:25 AM, Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible] wrote:

  [Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below]
Adult present right now – preening/roosting with 5 WFIB below eastern edge of dam (~250 yards W of bathroom). Here’s a picture of Heidi’s camera screen:

Face looks right for a pure Glossy plus other pics show leg color (pink joints on gray legs).

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

I guess I have to disagree with you Bob. The bird photographed by Heidi (and first shared by Jay in his initial IBLE report about the bird) shows a definite adult Glossy Ibis with no ring in the bill at all. The photo that Janet took shows a immature ibis that could be either a White-faced or a Glossy but I certainly couldn’t tell myself since I don’t know much about immature ibis. Looking at Sibley’s field guide it would be hard to tell which is which! When I arrived at the dam area, 2 birders already there told me the ibis out on the sandy spit with pelicans, gulls and cormorants was THE bird. I took it for granted that it was even though not getting a good look thru a full power scope. From that spot it flew to south side and I was able to drive to road below the berm, climb up on the berm and get a much better look at the bird. I reported it on ebird that it was a Glossy Ibis, but I’m convinced now that what I saw was an immature ibis and definitely NOT the mature Glossy that Jay/Heidi saw and reported. I am changing my ebird report to say ibis sp. Good lesson for me to not follow the crowd and make sure of the sighting before I get carried away. Not trying to slam anyone here as I know that all there thought it was the Glossy and me along with them. I’ll be like Janet and hopefully get out there again and find the REAL Glossy Ibis.
Thanks, Cheryl

From: mailto:ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 4:40 PM
To: Jay Carlisle
Cc: IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] clarification re: age of yesterday’s ibis at Indian Creek

This bird that I encountered, 5 minutes after passing Heidi and Jay on dirt road to Indian Creek Reservoir, I believe is the same bird that was described by jay in his email at 12:23 PM. It is also the bird that Janet photographed with the ‘salmon pink ring near the base of the bill’ in her eBird information. Great pic Janet. I scoped this same bird for almost 11/2 hours moving, walking and flying, back and forth on the south side and below the berm of the dam. During this time 4 other birders had arrived and about 11:15~ the bird flew to the north shore.

Bob Perata
Boise, ID

Sent from my iPad.

On Jul 10, 2018, at 1:13 PM, Jay Carlisle mailto:carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible] wrote:

Based on the reports (here, to Facebook, and via eBird), I get the sense there was some confusion about the age of the Glossy we found/reported. Heidi & I found an adult Glossy in breeding condition/plumage – we haven’t had time to upload our photos to eBird (will soon) but the picture I shared on IBLE & to Facebook yesterday show the reddish/purplish plumage, the gray legs with pink joints, and the narrow blueish facial skin above and below the eye.

Some reports from yesterday have suggested or clearly shown an immature bird – including the great photos in Janet’s eBird list here:

ebird.org/view/checklist/S47097556 (I definitely don’t mean to pick on you Janet! Your photo just provides great food for thought) … but I must admit Heidi & I didn’t even try to identify the young bird 🙂 as that can be difficult & we were so focused on the adult Glossy. I welcome any insights into the identification of juvenile ibis – and whether or not the bird in Janet’s list can be definitively identified.

Thanks,

Jay

eBird Checklist – Indian Creek Reservoir, Ada County, Idaho, US – Mon Ju…

This bird that I encountered, 5 minutes after passing Heidi and Jay on dirt road to Indian Creek Reservoir, I believe is the same bird that was described by jay in his email at 12:23 PM. It is also the bird that Janet photographed with the ‘salmon pink ring near the base of the bill’ in her eBird information. Great pic Janet. I scoped this same bird for almost 11/2 hours moving, walking and flying, back and forth on the south side and below the berm of the dam. During this time 4 other birders had arrived and about 11:15~ the bird flew to the north shore.

Bob Perata
Boise, ID

Sent from my iPad.

> On Jul 10, 2018, at 1:13 PM, Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible] wrote:
>
> Based on the reports (here, to Facebook, and via eBird), I get the sense there was some confusion about the age of the Glossy we found/reported. Heidi & I found an adult Glossy in breeding condition/plumage – we haven’t had time to upload our photos to eBird (will soon) but the picture I shared on IBLE & to Facebook yesterday show the reddish/purplish plumage, the gray legs with pink joints, and the narrow blueish facial skin above and below the eye.
>
> Some reports from yesterday have suggested or clearly shown an immature bird – including the great photos in Janet’s eBird list here:
> ebird.org/view/checklist/S47097556 (I definitely don’t mean to pick on you Janet! Your photo just provides great food for thought) … but I must admit Heidi & I didn’t even try to identify the young bird 🙂 as that can be difficult & we were so focused on the adult Glossy. I welcome any insights into the identification of juvenile ibis – and whether or not the bird in Janet’s list can be definitively identified.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jay
> eBird Checklist – Indian Creek Reservoir, Ada County, Idaho, US – Mon Ju…
>
>
>

Thanks for your input Jay. I definitely had questions about the ID of the bird in my photos. I quizzed the other birders present and they assured me that was the bird but in the sunshine, I couldn’t see any blue or red. I will head out there later and see if I can find your adult Glossy. Thanks, Janet

Based on the reports (here, to Facebook, and via eBird), I get the sense there was some confusion about the age of the Glossy we found/reported.  Heidi & I found an adult Glossy in breeding condition/plumage – we haven’t had time to upload our photos to eBird (will soon) but the picture I shared on IBLE & to Facebook yesterday show the reddish/purplish plumage, the gray legs with pink joints, and the narrow blueish facial skin above and below the eye.
Some reports from yesterday have suggested or clearly shown an immature bird – including the great photos in Janet’s eBird list here:
ebird.org/view/checklist/S47097556 (I definitely don’t mean to pick on you Janet!  Your photo just provides great food for thought) … but I must admit Heidi & I didn’t even try to identify the young bird 🙂 as that can be difficult & we were so focused on the adult Glossy.  I welcome any insights into the identification of juvenile ibis – and whether or not the bird in Janet’s list can be definitively identified.
Thanks,
Jay

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eBird Checklist – Indian Creek Reservoir, Ada County, Idaho, US – Mon Ju…

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I haven’t yet seen discussion of the new Supplement on IBLE, or it flew by me faster than the speed of a comprehensible neural synapse… eh?

Two name changes annoy me, since my first encounters with these species are deeply embedded in the old hard drive:

Gray Jay >>> Canada Jay

White-collared Seedeater >>> Morelet’s Seedeater

ick ack ook !!!

with much humility,
Larry

—– Original Message —–

—–Original Message—–
From: aznmbirds-request@list.arizona.edu [mailto:aznmbirds-request@list.arizona.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Stevenson
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2018 10:54 AM
To: aznmbirds@list.arizona.edu
Subject: [AZNMbirds] 2018 AOS Supplement is Out (with link to ABA Blog)

2018 AOS Supplement is Out!

According to this, the Mallard and Mexican Duck were NOT split (that is, the proposal to do so was not accepted).

For those (like me) who sometimes enter “picoides sp” in their eBird checklist, it won’t work as well after the eBird taxonomy is updated in August since most of the USA picoides have gone back to the genus dryobates.

A quick look shows that the only picoides left in AZ is American Three-toed Woodpecker.

Good birding,

Mark Stevenson

Tucson, AZ