The Glossy Ibis at Brockholes Quarry, Lancs, UK, SD585305.

1st-2nd October 2006.

by Bill Berry.

I arrived at Brockholes Quarry at 07:50hrs on Sunday 1st October. The weather was fine but cloudy with a moderate SW breeze and odd bursts of sunshine, following a light shower fifteen minutes earlier. As usual there were a number of species present, including several of Duck and waders, along with Coot, Gulls and Cormorant.

I began to scan the northern end of the main pool with Binoculars and Telescope noting the various species, and after a few minutes a fairly large, dark bird appeared in the telescope.

It stood approximately two feet high and had a long, de-curved bill. The colour of its plumage was all dark, almost black, and showed a purplish sheen when in the sun. The legs were grey and the bill brownish. It's overall impression and shape was that of a large Curlew.

After watching the bird for a few moments, I could only conclude that it couldn't be anything else other than a Glossy Ibis!

Unfortunately, no-one else was on-site at the time, so I tried to contact several local birders by telephone without success.

At 08:15hrs, I watched the bird take off and fly in a southerly direction until lost to sight. At this stage I was still the only person to make contact with the bird and i was a little nonplussed as to what to do next.

Shortly afterwards, Bill Aspin arrived and all the above details were passed to him..................

William Berry (3rd Oct 2006).

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Additional details of the event.

Bill Aspin.

................. Imagine the bombshell of being told upon arrival at your local patch that you had just missed a Glossy Ibis! - This is what happened to me at 08:25hrs as I got out of the car by the logbook. Brockholes regular Bill Berry (WB) may as well have floored me with a left hook, such was the impact of his statement!

The Ibis had flown high to the south just 10 minutes before my arrival, roughly at the same time as I was getting into my car to make the journey to the quarry.

WB had forgotten to bring his digiscoping gear with him and was therefore unable to obtain a crucial record shot  that would have aided a description no end. Coupled with the lack of a photo Bill was also perplexed that it appeared he would be destined to be the sole observe. After all, most birders would like others to see a good bird they find!

WB had to leave the site shortly after, so with the sinking feeling that the Ibis had well and truly gone, the next fifteen minutes was largely spent ringing other regulars and urging him to submit a description to the appropriate records panel. Photograph or no photograph, such a significant record simply had to be submitted.

At this point, Burnley birder Bernard Lee (BL) arrived on a one-off visit. We broke the news to him, which was followed by a short  exchange of dejected expletives between BL and Myself.

WB left the site and I resumed scanning the main pool whilst slowly making my way to the quarry compound. BL joined me briefly before I left him to continue my walk along the road. At c09:30hrs, an hour and a quarter after the initial sighting, whilst conducting a 'raptor' scan of the surrounding area, I noticed a distant bird, apparently all dark, flying directly away, to the east of the site. This may sound strange, but through the 'bins' this bird, still back on, appeared almost 'cormorant-esque', but with a rather erratic flight, lightly 'jinking' to the left and right. Although still very distant this made me give it a second look through the scope. For a moment the bird remained directly flying away, but then suddenly it turned perfectly side-on........... it was the Ibis!

The bird then disappeared behind trees, so I began running to the more open area of the quarry compound, screaming at Bernard who was further behind on the road that I had seen it. 

Fortunately Bernard caught up and both of us managed to see it in flight from this viewpoint, but in full silhouette. The bird was then lost behind trees to the east of the main pool, and was seemingly descending. On that basis I set off running over the mound suspecting that it may have gone down on the river, whilst urgently making calls to locals, firstly Bill Berry to reassure him that someone else had now seen the bird (!) and ringing it out to the pager services, whilst Bernard remained by the main pool.

A frantic walk of the River from Salmesbury Church - Redscar weir revealed no sign of the bird, and with more people arriving onsite, the start of a very tense c45 minutes ensued.

Now stood at the NE side of the quarry compound, scanning E-NE, I was joined by Colin Bushell (CIB), Bill Gregory and Zac Hinchcliffe (with Zacs parents and uncle in tow). John Wright (JW) had by now arrived onsite and was by the main pool. 

Back on the compound, we were discussing where it may be when the phone rang; it was JW..... and the Ibis had suddenly appeared on the main pool!! - What followed was an exhaustive and somewhat comical attempted sprint across the newly landscaped compound, fully laden with optical gear, CIB almost losing a Wellington Boot in the process, and back across the mound in an attempt to clinch some record footage of the bird, which was obtained, just prior to the bird being accidentally flushed.

Now in flight the Ibis disappeared distantly to the SE, again raising fears that it had left the area for good. But twenty minutes later, and much to the relief of those of us who had accidentally flushed it, the Ibis was picked up in flight coming in from the SE. The bird then landed in the area of the main pool directly out from the second passing place, allowing all present and those arriving good views of it before it flew to what would become its favoured area of the main pool, the eastern end.

For the remainder of the day, the Ibis adopted a pattern of spending periods of time on the main pool, interspersed with distant flights from which it would always return some 20-30 minutes later. These flights were mainly to the E-SE of the site, but on one occasion the bird flew North as a result of being flushed by a low flying 'pleasure-flights' Helicopter that buzzed the site at 10 minute intervals for over an hour mid-pm. Thankfully the bird eventually returned and after the umpteenth flyover by the chopper, the Ibis became oblivious to it's presence.

The bird was present until dusk, but even as late as 19:00hrs it would still make these significantly distant flights occasionally.

It was estimated that approximately 200 birders saw the bird on the day.

Next morning, 2nd Oct, Colin Bushell was first to arrive onsite, followed shortly afterwards by Myself. The Ibis was thankfully still present and the news broadcast. At 07:45hrs the bird made the first significant flight, heading distantly east, before returning shortly afterwards. However, at 07:55hrs, and for no apparent reason, the bird again took flight, and headed purposefully SW, a new direction, and was lost to view from our viewpoint behind trees bordering the main pool.

The majority of birds passing through Brockholes head off to the SW-W and at the time this was thought to be ominous. Indeed this proved to be the final sighting.

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All previous Lancashire records of Glossy Ibis.

Bob Stinger.

c1810: Near Liverpool, adult, shot, no date, now at Liverpool Museum.

c.1850: Ormskirk, no date, now at Liverpool Museum.

1859: Marton Mere, Blackpool, shot, no date.

1917: Garstang, shot, September, now at Kendal Museum.

1997: Pilling Lane Ends, two, 20th to 29th April.

2006: MMWWT, Single on ???? 2006 , presumed same, Brockholes Quarry, 1st-2nd Oct. again at MMWWT late morning of 3rd Oct.

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