White Ibis at Liberty Reservoir
S. Harvey Mudd, MD (shm@codon.nih.gov)
Tue, 11 Aug 1998 14:59:52 -0400
The first fall plumaged White Ibis was present again this morning where Rt
140 crosses Liberty Reservoir. When I arrived at 8:15 it was present in the
flooded mud-flat area north of the bridge. I watched it from the end of the
old road-bed described by Bob Ringler as it fed actively, staying close to
the immature Little Blue Heron. At 8:40, for no obvious reason, the ibis
stopped feeding, looked around anxiously several times, then took off. It
flew and soared for at least five minutes by my watch over the wooded area
on the Carroll County side, gradually working its way further west, then
south, until it finally disappeared heading south. Neither the nearby
Little Blue, nor the somewhat more distant Common Egrets reacted at all at
the time the ibis took off, so I do not think there was any general alarm.
It will be interesting to see if the ibis reappears, or if it had just
decided to move on.
Harvey Mudd
____________________________________
S. Harvey Mudd
NIMH/DIRP/LMB
Building 36, Room 1B-08
36 CONVENT DR MSC 4034
BETHESDA MD 20892-4034
tel: 301-496-0681; fax 301-402-0245
email: shm@codon.nih.gov