White-faced Ibis at Horicon Marsh

I was on the auto tour on Monday morning (5/24) watching the shorebirds, but it was foggy and not a very nice morning for pictures. I wanted to see the Red Knot though, so it was worth it. I looked at the weather and decided to come back again on Tuesday, as it was suppose to be better by 7ish. Of course it wasn’t, the weather report was wrong… shocker!!! With the southwest/west winds Monday night, I thought there was a chance to have some cool birds blow through. I arrived just past sunrise, but it was cloudy, so alas no sun. I sat down by the rocks on the drawn down pond that has been holding the shorebirds, pretty much in the same spot I was on Monday. They would move around quite a bit, but always came to the one spot that was closer to the road. It might take 20 to 30 minutes, but it was worth the wait each time! After an hour or so of sitting there, I hear a couple of strange calls coming from the right. I look over and here come 2 ibis flying in. They end up landing, just to the right of me, about 100′ away! I move my camera around, get them in focus and realize they are White-faced Ibis. Wow, that was unexpected! There was only one other person on the auto tour at that time, but they were way south, near the red rock and still in their vehicle. The two ibis fed for about 10 minutes before flying off to the north. I’m not even sure they saw me sitting there. If that wasn’t good enough, about an hour later, 2 Red-necked Phalarope and 1 Wilson’s Phalarope flew in, again landing right in front of me! What is going on??? All 3 were in full breeding plumage. I just got my lifer Red-necked Phalarope about a week prior, but it was far out and not in breeding plumage. By this time, there were a handful of vehicles on the road and numerous people walking by. Good thing the phalaropes were rather tame and did not spook every time the other shorebirds would move around. My day went from ok, to great, to amazing, all in about an hour and a half! Photos below are from the morning. Enjoy!