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Limpkin and White-faced Ibis at Savannah NWR, 11 March



    Saw both the above mentioned birds today at the usual spots.  The
Limpkin at .9 miles into the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive, before the road
makes a hard 90 degree turn to the right.  I arrived at this spot about
5:30pm and at 6:10pm I looked up and saw the Limpkin standing out in the
open, about 15 meters from the road.  The bird stood in that one spot and
preened until I left at 6:25pm.
    The White-faced Ibis was seen at Impoundment 16 at about 2pm and again
at about 5pm.  Both times the W-f Ibis was seen it was towards the back end
of the impoundment but stood out quite well from the other half-dozen or so
Glossies with its red iris/facial skin.  Also of note, the legs of this bird
were noticeably redder than that of the Glossies.  The W-f Ibis was also
more drabbly colored than the Glossies.  The Glossies it was hanging out
with appeared to be in almost full breeding plumage, much like the adult
breeding Glossy Ibis on page 67 of the Sibley guide.  The W-f Ibis looked
more like the adult non-breeding W-f on the same page.  I did not observe
the W-f having any of the white border around the red facial skin, but the
blue border on the facial skin of all the Glossies I saw today was
noticeable, even at distances of 80-100 meters.  I regret to say that I did
not take notice of whether the head of the W-f was streaked or not, but I
think if it was streaked it would have been readily apparent.  Good luck to
all who go seek these birds.

Mike Turner
Columbia SC