Unusual sighting of the Sacred Ibis at the beach, Port Elizabeth.

These are very poor photos ( below) taken with a cell phone camera and from a distance but we needed to capture this strange sighting. It was quite bizarre to spot about twelve Sacred Ibis birds clambering along the rocks at Millers Beach last week. All were fishing alongside the regular seagulls for delicacies amongst the rocks. We were under the impression that the sacred ibis wouldn’t be found near the coast but after looking up the information we have learned that indeed they can be found at the coast. “The African sacred ibis thrives in large colonies near waterways throughout Africa. It inhabits wetlands such as marshes, swamps, riverbanks, flood plains and mud flats both coastal and inland. It is also known to visit pastures, ploughed land and rubbish dumps.” That doesn’t exactly say AT the beach, wading through little waves lapping up against the rocks at low tide!