Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2002 11:24:37 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: White Ibis at Kenilworth AG, DC MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hi all -- Beery and I went down to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens today in hopes of catching up with the Little Blue Heron seen there over the weekend (a species which has continued to elude us in DC). We arrived about 8:30 since high tide had been about 6 a.m. and we wanted some mud to be exposed. When we got to the end of the boardwalk, however, there was very little exposed mud and it was obvious the tide was still going out (against the strong northerly wind). We sat and watched for a while, a couple Greater Yellowlegs dropped in, a immature Osprey begged for food from its hunting parent, and three Great Egrets started to feed. Suddenly, a bird appeared from the general direction of Langston Golf Course (that is, the west) about 200 feet up. It was an immature WHITE IBIS!! WOW! It circled the open area at the end of KAG's boardwalk, gradually dropping lower and lower, as if it was looking for a place to land. However, it continued to fly, going gradually east (parallel to the boardwalk and over the wetlands between the boardwalk and Kenilworth Park), and then glided over KAG itself, and finally -- fairly low by then -- disappeared in the general area of the Marsh Trail or the Anacostia itself. We checked all the KAG ponds and then, walking the trail, all areas that we could see from the trail but could not relocate the bird. The ibis was in the same plumage stage as the one earlier at Black Hills -- brownish wings, back and tip of tail, tan head and neck, striking white rump and duller pale colored undersides. The bill was yellow and quite obviously downcurved. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us as we might have been able to snap a photo as the bird circled. If anyone tries to relocate this bird, I's suggest (besides, obviously, KAG) -- to try Langston Golf Course (walk in from driving range parking lot just over Benning Rd. bridge) and Kingman Lake. If we are lucky this bird is in the area but moving around in response to tide. Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper Silver Spring, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================