Mickey Raine reports:

Tuesday and Wednesday  after work we went to DeKorte Park to see what was going on. The Glossy Ibis was present amongst other birds, but at a great distance, so the photos are as much landscape as is a bird shot.

The Great Egrets have been consistently around, and the smaller shorebirds are aplenty, and the Greater Yellowlegs, given the larger stature for shorebirds, are easier to capture nicely with the camera

The Glossy Ibises we saw yesterday were chased away by several Black Crowned Night Herons, and later it certainly appeared to be a case of some kind of organized containment and/or watch. When the two were forced away in different directions being nearly attacked by separate BCNH‎’s independently, one flew toward the Saw Mill area and the other to the dense reeds near the short stretch of boardwalk off of Transco Trail.

The Ibis flying south just disappeared into the horizon. The one that flew toward the boardwalk reeds might have been trapped . . .‎ The BCNH pair that chased that one off had followed it toward the reeds, then looked to have sandwiched it within.

One BCNH seemed to monitor from the west end tiny bit of shore, constantly looking into the reeds, while another watched from the east side, also doing likewise, sometimes from the aluminum railing and other times from the shallow water at the outer edge of the reeds.

It was the strangest sight, and in addition, we saw 5 more BCNH’s perched on two areas of railings far away toward the main parts of the visible areas ‎of the boardwalk.   In total, we witnessed at least 8 BCNH’s at one time–couldn’t tell if a few that flew in and out of sight were different ones or the same ones.

Although not getting really closer shots of the Ibis yesterday and the day before, the fact that we were in the right place at the right time to secure some really nice shots of the Green Heron made the photographic end of things worth the trip.   Another nice addition to the recent great outings at DeKorte.

(Thanks, Mickey! Will post Mickey’s Green Heron shots later.)

We stayed for quite awhile to see if the one Ibis would surface from the hiding spot, but it never came out.   We had never seen so many BCNH’s there before–fascinating, but creepy, too, for they always struck us as gentle and not worried about other birds nearby.   The way the 2 Ibises were chased off initially was very surprising, for it was definitely done with intent, and as if by design in timing.
Mickey