Nice Spot: Ibis at Indian Ridge Marsh

words and photos by Terry Elia

While perusing the COS Facebook group, I saw a post from Patricia Pearson (Thanks for posting Patricia!) that featured an ibis, likely a White-faced Ibis, but potentially a Glossy Ibis. Apparently the birds were first spotted by Doug Stotz on November 1.

The post was only a day old, so I decided I would take a ride to the South Side of Chicago (where the ibises were spotted). I arrived at Indian Ridge Marsh, the area where Patricia saw the ibis. Around 7 a.m. I hiked out to the marsh and I spotted some egrets and then saw two ibises. 

They were feeding in the shallow water of the marsh. I stayed watching and photographing them for about three hours. 

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to see and photograph these birds as they are not local to our area.

(Editors note: White-faced Ibises are native to the Plains, Southwest, and Mexico. A White-faced Ibis has been known to appear in the Chicago area from time-to-time. Glossy Ibises are native to the Atlantic coast and Florida. Their visits to our area are even rarer, with the last eBird record in the city being from 2005. These birds spotted in early November have not been definitively identified as White-faced or Glossy Ibises.)

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