{"id":67408,"date":"2020-03-27T05:15:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T11:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=67408"},"modified":"2021-05-13T04:07:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T10:07:25","slug":"adult-white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-plumage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/27\/adult-white-faced-ibis-in-breeding-plumage\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult White-faced Ibis In Breeding Plumage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PerchedPerched adult White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the next few days large numbers of White-faced Ibis will be flying into northern Utah for the breeding season. The largest White-faced Ibis nesting colony in the world can be found in the marshes around the Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

I get excited to see loose flocks of White-faced Ibis flying into the marshes at the beginning of their nesting season. They are especially beautiful when the light angle highlights the pink, bronze, purple, and green iridescence of their feathers. 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.<\/p>\n

I photographed this White-faced Ibis last year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> from the auto tour loop. I don’t often see ibis perching on anything in Utah so I was glad to get a nice series of this bird as it grasped the cattails with its feet in the marsh.<\/p>\n

I enjoy seeing, photographing, and hearing<\/span><\/a> flocks of White-faced Ibis at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Farmington Bay WMA and other marshy areas of Utah, Idaho, and Montana any time of the year. They can be fun and challenging to photograph.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click 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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,26,1372],"tags":[4004,4053,4073,4366,5606,3721,5148,2148,4094,4450,4104,1373,313,4340],"class_list":["post-67408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","category-white-faced-ibises","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-breeding-season","tag-cattails","tag-definitive-alternate-plumage","tag-ibis","tag-ibises","tag-iridescence","tag-marsh","tag-nesting-season","tag-perched","tag-plegadis-chihi1","tag-wading-birds","tag-white-faced-ibis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-faced-ibis-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7409.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-hxe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35519,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/13\/adult-and-juvenile-white-faced-ibis\/","url_meta":{"origin":67408,"position":0},"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 "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","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":51811,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/24\/white-faced-ibis-birds-of-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":67408,"position":1},"title":"White-faced Ibis – Birds Of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"White-faced Ibis are abundant at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during their breeding season and they can be easily seen from the 12 mile, self-guided auto tour route feeding in the water impoundments or flying in loose flocks overhead.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","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 in breeding plumage, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-faced-ibis-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-faced-ibis-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-faced-ibis-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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":57580,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/03\/white-faced-ibis-perched-on-cattails\/","url_meta":{"origin":67408,"position":3},"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 "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","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, 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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":[]},{"id":106272,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/16\/glowing-white-faced-ibis\/","url_meta":{"origin":67408,"position":5},"title":"Glowing White-faced Ibis","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I took a photos of a White-faced Ibis glowing in the morning light at Farmington Bay on Monday. This is why I am out and photographing so early in the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis with its feathers aglow, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/white-faced-ibis-glowing-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/white-faced-ibis-glowing-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/white-faced-ibis-glowing-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/white-faced-ibis-glowing-mia-mcpherson-2875.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\/67408","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=67408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}