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#92243
Thanks Randy, I saw the Brambling on the Rare Bird Reports and figured there would be a mob scene (multiple observers scene). I still haven't gone out to the Garden City Lands to see if the Ibis is still there yet either. The Bird Challenge here is a bit of motivation for me to record my local birds for the year while still trying to move on from "snap shots" to "photography". Getting good backgrounds with birds on a nice perch or in an environment takes a lot of practice. Plus the drab December weather kept me inside for so long, any excuse to get out for a walk is a high priority.
#92248
There were some glimmers od brightness in south Richmond by late morning, so I decided to head up to the Garden City Lands park in the heart of Richmond. Leaden grey skies remained there, in spite of waiting around for an hour or so. I was interested to see if that vagabond Ibis was still there - yup, foraging along the shoreline of the flooded field at the southwest corner of the park. Such a surreal environment to view a tropical bird - a Mr. Lube, Esso Station, two high volume roads with a lot of traffic noise, dog walkers, joggers, etc. But the Ibis was pretty chill, and was easy to approach and by staying down low and slow movements, it would approach within 5 meters at times. It sure didn't seem like it wanted to move on - it was doing quite well extracting worms and grubs from the shoreline.

Randy (NewWestBirder) posted the Ibis last year, so my turn this year. Based on conversations with Melissa Hafting, the jury is still out as to whether this is a White Faced Ibis or a Glossy Ibis, or possibly a hybrid. I'll be calling it a White Faced/Glossy Ibis for now:

ImageWhite Faced/Glossy Ibis by GMcD2008, on Flickr

ImageWhite Faced/Glossy Ibis by GMcD2008, on Flickr

ImageWhite Faced/Glossy Ibis by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92250
A glimmer of bright light from the east prompted me to go down to the London's Landing pier to see what's happening. The usual ducks and then a small group of Greater Yellowlegs swooped in across from the pier to play on the mud flat still exposed as the tide was coming in. A distant shot, but good enough to get the Greater Yellowlegs on the list:

ImageGreater Yellowlegs by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92253
After a morning of errands and chores, there were some sunny periods this afternoon, but oh, how the wind was howling! I took a walk over to London Heritage Farm hoping that the gardens area would be a little bit protected from the wind. Bird life was pretty quiet, a few Mallards in the little pond there, and then an Anna's Hummingbird flitted by and perched nearby. Backlit by the sky, so exposure could be better, but we can add the Male Anna's Hummingbird to the list now:

ImageAnna's Hummingbird male by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Another visitor to the pier this afternoon was a K[…]