{"id":23326,"date":"2015-05-09T06:28:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T12:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=23326"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:24:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T11:24:49","slug":"a-white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-plumage-at-red-rock-lakes-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/09\/a-white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-plumage-at-red-rock-lakes-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage at Red Rock Lakes NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-157988 size-full\" title=\"White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403.jpg\" alt=\"White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">A White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage &#8211; Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The first bird I photographed on my recent trip to Idaho and Montana was a White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage. This ibis was actively searching for food along the shoreline of the Lower Lake of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fws.gov\/refuge\/red_rock_lakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Montana.<\/p>\n<p>The sun in the western horizon sure picked up the iridescent colors on the wings but what drew my eye is how the white feathers on its face stood out so well.<\/p>\n<p>It sure makes it easy to see where they got their common name.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/white-faced-ibis-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my White-faced Ibis photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first bird I photographed on my recent trip to Idaho and Montana was a White-faced Ibis in full breeding plumage. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":157988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,27,223,12,608,1372],"tags":[4004,4053,1130,4136,3721,5148,2151,5178,615,1373,4188,5434,313,4236,3996,4340],"class_list":["post-23326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-white-faced-ibises","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-food","tag-foraging","tag-ibis","tag-ibises","tag-iridescent-colors","tag-lake","tag-lower-lake","tag-plegadis-chihi1","tag-shoreline","tag-valley","tag-wading-birds","tag-walking","tag-water","tag-white-faced-ibis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-4403.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-64e","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67408,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/27\/adult-white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":0},"title":"Adult White-faced Ibis In Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When White-faced Ibis are in breeding plumage it is easy to see how they got their common name, in nonbreeding plumage, not so much.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Perched adult White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-faced-ibis-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7409.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-faced-ibis-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7409.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-faced-ibis-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7409.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-faced-ibis-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7409.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35519,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/13\/adult-and-juvenile-white-faced-ibis\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":1},"title":"Adult and juvenile White-faced Ibis","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I thought a comparison of adult and juvenile White-faced Ibis might be interesting for those of you who aren't familiar with this western species of ibis.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-faced Ibis feeding at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/white-faced-ibis-adult-breeding-mia-mcpherson-7253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/white-faced-ibis-adult-breeding-mia-mcpherson-7253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/white-faced-ibis-adult-breeding-mia-mcpherson-7253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/white-faced-ibis-adult-breeding-mia-mcpherson-7253.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52171,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/05\/19\/white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-and-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":2},"title":"White-faced Ibis in Breeding and Nonbreeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In just a few weeks the White-faced Ibis that are in breeding plumage right now will begin to molt into their nonbreeding plumage and I thought this might be a good time to show some of the differences.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage all fluffed up, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-0702.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-0702.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-0702.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-0702.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47871,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/08\/02\/white-faced-ibis-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":3},"title":"White-faced Ibis at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was calling me yesterday morning and I answered that call and photographed several White-faced Ibis from the auto tour route.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis wing lift, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/white-faced-ibis-stretching-mia-mcpherson-0657.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/white-faced-ibis-stretching-mia-mcpherson-0657.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/white-faced-ibis-stretching-mia-mcpherson-0657.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/white-faced-ibis-stretching-mia-mcpherson-0657.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57580,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/03\/white-faced-ibis-perched-on-cattails\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":4},"title":"White-faced Ibis Perched On Cattails","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't seen or photographed White-faced Ibis perched in the nearly ten years that I have lived here so I was thrilled to have my first opportunity to do so yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis perched on cattails in the marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-perched-mia-mcpherson-7400.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-perched-mia-mcpherson-7400.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-perched-mia-mcpherson-7400.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-perched-mia-mcpherson-7400.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57380,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/22\/white-faced-ibis-with-a-wet-head-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":23326,"position":5},"title":"White-faced Ibis With A Wet Head At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This White-faced Ibis had been feeding in the shallow water and had gotten its head soaking wet right before I photographed it and the ibis was in the process of getting ready to shake the water from its head feathers.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis with a wet head, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-wet-head-mia-mcpherson-0703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-wet-head-mia-mcpherson-0703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-wet-head-mia-mcpherson-0703.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/white-faced-ibis-wet-head-mia-mcpherson-0703.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}