Kat2

If I could find my cord I'd upload a picture of 19 adults and a juvenile in my backyard. (I really do need to unpack, don't I?)

They've landed in the front before but didn't stay long enough for me to grab my phone. Friday, because my backyard was approaching jungle status, I used my mulching mower and clipped it short. I don't know if the birds were there yesterday but today they hung around for at least 20 minutes having a high old time poking their beaks all over. I was planning to shed the grass and use the area for my veggie garden but am now wondering if the visiting flock will totally destroy my efforts.

Should I worry? What do they eat? (I know they prefer "seafood" but despite searching I can't find out why they're attracted to my yard.) Are they and armadillos on the same diet? Ibis don't seem to do as much damage as that pesky armadillo or 2 who dig 6" holes in the yard--FL equivalent for groundhogs and sprained ankles.

__________________

Snarkie

I'm assuming that you can't toss a pack of firecrackers out the back door, but if you slam a couple pieces of 2x4 together (make a V and slam the open end shut), they'll think it's a gunshot and leave. Do it a couple of times and if it's the same bunch, they'll avoid the area.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Kat2

If they're ridding the area of insects that would damage my plants, I'd prefer to have them visit daily and figure out how to work with them. If they're eating insects the armadillos want, I really would like to keep them around until the "food" runs out. I just don't know why they chose my backyard or what they found so intriguing and apparently quite tasty.

I had starlings or possibly grackles (ugly birds) when I lived outside of DC. Everyone hated them; I didn't. I had absolutely no Japanese beetles because they ate the grubs on my property. We had a box we set up for some bird to nest in; my black birds raised a brood in it. I watched mama teach babies to fly from the back fence to my den window sill. Those babies were bigger than she was!

__________________

Snarkie

I would say they were grackles. As far as I know, they are the only birds that will eat the Japanese beetles. They're black, but with iridescent green and purple hues.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Kat2

You're probably right. These spent hours pecking in my tiny yard and garden; the ground was thick with them. Now the catbirds and the city rats were quite another issue: they ate my fruit! Not really ate it. Just sampled nearly every one and ruined it.

__________________

pmurphy

"Their diet consists primarily of small aquatic prey, such as insects and small fishes. Crayfish are its preferred food in most regions, but it can adjust its diet according to the habitat and prey abundance. It is a tactile, non-visual forager, whose main foraging behavior is probing with its beak at the bottom of shallow water to feel form, and to capture its prey.

During the breeding season, the American white ibis gathers in huge colonies near water......."

Kat2

Yes I read that but I don't have crayfish in my yard yet apparently they're finding something worth eating or they'd leave immediately. I'd rather they not scarf up earthworms but they're welcome to grubs or any other destructive pest. And if they eat newly emerged seedlings I'd have to alter my garden plans.

__________________

Snarkie

Ha! Hey Kat, maybe they mistook your freshly-clipped lawn for a shallow marsh!

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Kat2

I'm going to have to water my pots because we're a bit dry here so no mistaking my yard for a marsh. I did read that they love newly mowed and recently laid sod which makes sense because they never came until I fired up the mower. I really do try to work with nature because it's cheaper and less work. Maybe I'll have to go to the Master Gardener meeting at the library in the morning and ask them though I have my doubts they'll know what the Ibis are eating. (They didn't come near my blueberries or citrus in pots but sure aerated the backyard.)

__________________

Snarkie

Well, that does make sense. They must have good eyesight too, to spot the difference like that.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Dangermouse01

I get flocks of Ibis walking across my front lawn and eating something. Never worried about what they were eating, figure it had to be grubs, mole crickets, sod web worms or something else that I would rather have gone.

DM

cincinnana

Your Ibis are like my turkeys.
They are great to observe...

They eat everything in sight....And are soothing to watch.
Untitled by Hostafarian, on Flickr

__________________

Kat2

I hope they don't like tomatoes and peppers...

__________________