Being Stalked

For the second time or maybe even the third time this year Norfolk has hosted a Sacred Ibis. See Letter from Norfolk 2^nd July.

As I travelled along the coast this individual followed me. I was stalked by an Ibis!

I took the opportunity to take a few shots while the bird wasn’t knee deep in grass and rushes.

DEFRA (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs) has already all but eliminated Ruddy Ducks from the British Countryside (rightly or wrongly) and of late has had a stab at Badgers, Monk Parakeets and Buzzards. Given the capability of Sacred Ibis’ to wipe out tern colonies I wonder if the hired guns of DEFRA will take a hand if the species does breed.

Believe me … when you’re ugly it pays to be a natty dresser.

Last week a Sacred Ibis made Cley marshes in Norfolk its home for a while. This rather ugly species is native to the African continent south of the Sahara up through Egypt and into Iran. In 1990 birds were allowed to fly free from a French zoo at the north end of the Bay of Biscay. In 1993 breeding was confirmed in the wild and a self sustaining population had been created. By 2005 1100 breeding pairs had become established along the French Atlantic coast.

It is only a matter of time before these birds spread to the UK but as yet it is not on the British list. Unless a flock of birds arrive or this singleton we have here on the coast turns out to be a vanguard of a larger influx this first summer bird will be deemed an escape.