Northern bald ibis – follow their dangerous journey!

Someone says "ibis" and you think of a sleek bird, possibly startling white or shocking orange…something way up there on the bird beauty scale.  And then there's the bald ibis.  A somewhat greasy black, with a naked face that looks like it's had a few too many years of hard drinking, and a shocking hairdo.  A bird it might be harder to love – but love them we do.  Once you get to know them, they are stunning in their own way.

I first met the bald ibis when I was working at the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, where there is a successful captive breeding programme.  Noisy and smelly in their colony, but curious and full of character – this species was almost lost for good a few decades ago.  The RSPB has been a key player in the projects on the ground in Morocco, where most of the birds live, and Dr Chris Bowden has worked with them for so long I swear he is beginning to look a little ibis-like!  Along with SEO, our Spanish BirdLife Partner, prospects are good for this western population.

However, only a handful of birds survive at the other end of the ibis's former range in the Middle East/north-east Africa.  If these are lost, the species does not go extinct, but the implications are severe – there will be no individuals left who know the migration routes, where to find food and water. 

Some of the remaining birds are about to leave Ethiopia on their trek north – and these have satellite transmitters so we can follow their journey.  The RSPB has a web page dedicated to this project and you can see how the birds are faring there, along with the latest blog updates from the experts.

Go on, fall in love with the northern bald ibis – they need all the friends they can get!