It isn’t often that I get to investigate rare bird reports, as time constraints limit my ability to travel very far. However, I recently received an e-mail from Fields Pond Nature Center director Judy Markowsky that gave me an opportunity to do so.

A resident of Indian Island had called the Center to say she had seen a white ibis. Markowsky asked if it were possible for me to confirm this. Since it was right down the street from me, for a change, I was more than happy to investigate.

The wind whipped around our car as we drove over the bridge to the island early the next morning. Clouds hid a sun that might have given some warmth to this early spring day, and I wished I were back in bed.

That thought vanished as soon as I got a good look at the birds foraging on the flooded lawn just over the bridge. There was an ibis there, but it was a glossy ibis, not a white ibis. In addition, a snowy egret strode regally in the shallows among a small group of ring-billed gulls.

I had seen glossy ibises and snowy egrets before, both during my recent trip to Florida and when I lived in New Jersey. The snowy egret is an uncommon bird for this area; Markowsky has seen one only twice in the greater Bangor region in 15 years of birding. The glossy ibis does breed in southern Maine, and has even been reported as an occasional breeder in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. However, this is the first time one has been reported in this area of the state, Markowsky said. It is a rare bird for Maine.

The glossy ibis is a duck-sized bird with a long neck, long legs, and a long, thin, down-curved bill. From a distance it appears all black, but at closer range the light brings out the iridescent sheen on its feathers for which the bird was named. Its neck and chest are bronze-hued and its wings and tail show a hint of metallic green or purple.

The National Audubon Society bird identification guide suggests this bird crossed the Atlantic from Africa in the 19th century, and extended its range northward from South America and the Caribbean.

It breeds primarily along the coast from Texas, Florida and along the eastern seaboard. It prefers fresh water or river-edge marshes, and occasionally saltwater habitats. It has been reported at scattered sights inland to the Midwest.

I was intrigued to find there was a reason for the gulls and the egret to be hanging around the ibis. Ornithologists have discovered this bird acts as a “beater.” As it forages it stirs up many prey items that are easily snatched up by other birds. Ibis are well known for this and birds naturally congregate around them, knowing that the eating will be good.

The ibis uses its tactile bill to capture prey in different ways. It may probe the mud with it; it may open it in the water and let the current carry prey to it; or it may sweep it back and forth in a more active method of securing food. It will eat leeches, earthworms, dragonflies, crickets and water beetles, as well as crabs, crayfish, fish, amphibians, snakes and lizards.

Apparently the ibis had found a productive spot on the river, for it remained there throughout the day, feeding voraciously. What a treat it was to see it in my neck of the woods.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com