Everyone is Beautiful in the Right Light
White-Faced Ibis, Market Lake Wildlife Preserve, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
For a long time, I hesitated to photograph the White-Faced Ibises here in Idaho. I was afraid of them as a child after an adult told me one would carry me off if I played by the river past dark.
I could see the ancient theropods in them, the dinosaurs who shaped-shifted over the eons into birds. I wasn’t confident the Ibises had fully evolved, so I kept my distance.
When they swooped into a marsh to feed, they came in large numbers, stretching out long, featherless legs to touch down in shallow water. Their partially webbed feet looked capable of plucking a sweet gosling off the pond. The only color I could see on their dark bodies were the white rings around their glowing red eyes. And their 30-inch silver beaks reminded me of cavalry sabers.
On the hottest nights, they gave me chills.
Flock of White-Faced Ibis, Market Lake Wildlife Preserve, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
Late one summer evening, everything shifted in my relationship with Ibises. I was hiking in a nearby wetland when I spotted one feeding about 20 feet from me. The low angle of the setting sun revealed a kaleidoscope of colors layered in the Ibis’s feathers. Before that moment, I had no idea Ibises had unfolded from a distant time into little rainbows.
I later learned Ibises symbolize the human soul and the purity of gliding between the worlds.
When we seek the light shining in others, our own burns a little brighter.
Thanks for walking with me,
Kris
