Some eBird users may be seeing a huge murmuration of White-Faced Ibis reports in Lac qui Parle County right now.
While these birds are present in what we all agree are record numbers across the area, they are (as of today) especially concentrated in one particular place. The site is 3 miles due east of Marietta, along State Hwy 40. There is a wet area with some mid-sized trees around it on the north side of the road, and a smaller flooded patch to the south. It's next to the intersection with 151st St. (Avocet, Long-Billed Dowitcher, Willet, Pectoral and Least Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and Dunlin have also showed up here, with all but Least and Pectoral appearing in relatively low numbers) The Ibises are favoring the northern part, and appear to be roosting there overnight. The highest individual count from this site so far appears to be 66 birds. When my caravan stopped there yesterday morning around 9:00 AM, there were only 4, though at 7:00 AM there were an estimated 50. When I returned to check this morning at 6:30 AM, I counted 37. They seem to quickly fan out across the area to feed shortly after sunrise, and return at random times throughout the day in inconsistent numbers, both to feed and to rest at this site. It is possible, with a telephoto lens, to photograph the full group at sunrise or sunset. Today and Monday are forecast to be awfully windy, though. Regardless of how many there actually are, this is the most I've ever seen in one place, and has proved to be one of our highlights for the Salt Lake count this year. I'll post more observations and a final tally on Monday. Jason Frank ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
