Friday 27 August 2010

A paean to the much maligned Ibis

Prehistoric remnant
Migrating for survival
Sacred Ibis.
In Ancient Egypt, the god Thoth who helped the sun journey across the sky, was often depicted as an Ibis whose crescent shaped beak was reminiscent of the moon.
Garbage rummager
Scavenging for survival
Straw-necked Ibis.
Although the Ibis has all but disappeared in modern Egypt, archaeologists have found the mummified remains of over a million Ibises in the Serapeum at Saqqara near Memphis.
Urban asylum-seeker
Pilloried victim
Australian White Ibis.
Increasingly over the last twenty five years, the White Ibis has migrated to urban areas depleting former breeding grounds like the Macquarie Marshes in northern NSW.
Vulnerable species
Ancient symbol
Ibis.

A member of the Skywatch Friday community.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautifully captured!

Happy SWF! Enjoy your weekend!

ninja said...

Great! I've never seen them in the wild.

EG CameraGirl said...

I learned something today! I know very little about the ibis because the don't live in Ontario but their story is interesting and their flight looks so graceful.

Hildred said...

Wonderful captures, - such graceful birds and thank you for telling me things I didn't know before.

Anonymous said...

your sky is peacefully blue. neat captures.

Joan Elizabeth said...

On a trip down to Sydney yesterday I saw a tree beside the road weighed down with about 30 ibis. I wonder why they favoured just one tree?

joo said...

Julie, thoso photos are absolutely fabulous!I'm impressed!
Happy weekend to you:)

Anonymous said...

Poetry in motion !


daily athens

Wanda said...

So very lovely, and peaceful...

Arija said...

I really cannot see why they have been maligned. Certainly not by farmers who value them for their soil aerating properties. The Macquarie marshes have been dry dust pans for years with cracked earth, certainly not a plausible breeding ground for any water bird.

Nice shot.

Jayne said...

Great pics :)

KB said...

Fabulous pics.

Happy Skywatching.

My Skywatch is here.

Rinkly Rimes said...

I too admire the ibis. I think trees full of them are quite astounding. But there seems to be a downside to everything, even birds. I like the juxtaposition of word and image in your blog.

Indrani said...

That is a wonderful poem, thank you for explaining the meaning. Great pics.

Bruce Caspersonn said...

Birds of a feather, flock together.

Ann said...

I detest those things. Maybe I'd be more charitable towards them if they hadn't become an urban scavenger, though I admit that's not their fault, its ours.

Peter said...

They look better here than they do up close!

'Tsuki said...

What a lovely share ! Great pictures and nice text to present them...

Rimkogeren said...

Thank you for your comment. Your images are beautiful in their two-color composition. The report on ibiizerne is thought-provoking

Anonymous said...

They are nice on a blue sky from a distance that conceals their often dirty and scruffy appearance.

Good captures.

NatureFootstep said...

I spotted one of them when I visited Camargue last may. But I did not get that good photos of it. :(

JTG (Misalyn) said...

absolutely stunning! terrific capture Julie! I like the deep blue and neat sky. I agree with Robert's comment..indeed it's a poetry in motion.

Have a nice weekend.

Francisca said...

I have learned about the ibis, both from you, Julie, and your visitors. It's hard to feel unkind towards any living creatures, especially when they are as elegantly portrayed as in your captures, Yet sometimes they do become pests and contribute to our misery... like the dozens of stray cats in our neighbourhood; no longer cute kitty cats. (I am turning around and walking away slowly... I know there a lot of unconditional cat lovers...) :-D

Julie said...

*grin*
I like cats but lots of strays are a menance. Take around Rome for instance.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

wow, I have not seen three ibises flying. I was up on the Gold Coast, and they come to my bro's garden.

They call them rubbish birds.

The mummies will roll in their pyramids. LOL, I am teaching Ancient Egypt to my young students.

~Cheryl said...

I'm not familiar with the ibis. Your photos are so beautiful; I was surprised by the contrasting verse! This makes your post even more enjoyable! I hope you are having a great weekend.

Betsy Brock said...

Aren't they gorgeous? I love the shape of their heads!