Getting 'Glossy' at Stodmarsh

There has been a juvenile Glossy Ibis at Stodmarsh for a few day showing quite well from the Reedbed hide. This is a scarce Stour Valley bird but the last few years has seen an increase of sightings of this species. I have spent a few sessions trying to capture what sheen this juvenile has and it has proved quite a challenge. The area outside the hide is often in the shade and even when the sun has come through which is not that often the Ibis is generally in the shade but occasionally makes visits briefly into the sunny patches. Today I made 2 visits, the morning session seeing the Glossy Ibis mostly walking around in the shade but this afternoon looked promising with some sun forecast. Along with a hide full of birders the Glossy Ibis showed well both on the deck and in flight allowing me to grab a number of images as it flew past the hide and back into its favourite corner to feed once again. Despite all the shots, I never still got that shot which really shows of the sheen of the plumage, another challenge for another day. Other birds noted there were 1 Kingfisher, 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Bittern seen well in flight, 1 Common Buzzard, c150 Greylag Geese, 2 Jay and a few hundred Teal. 

Juvenile Glossy Ibis