BirdingNZ.net

That is because glossy ibises had gone to their breeding colony, and are started to lay eggs now, so you have to wait until January when they return with their chicks to where you been looked for. Chicks don't fly strongly until January when about 1 1/2 month old.

Will Parsons wrote:The glossy ibis seemed to have disappeared again and have not visited there main feeding paddock and there is no sign of them alongside the Royal spoonbill on the settling ponds.

The Glossy Ibis are back at there breeding site on the island in the middle of the Sewage Pond at the end of Hardings Rd.
This morning I counted six glossy ibis on the island along with 67 Royal Spoonbills.
The Royal Spoonbills I am positive are nesting over the last few weeks I have seen numerous adults fly in with nesting material and although very distance there look to be a number of Royal Spoonbills sitting on nests.
The Glossy Ibis may also be nesting, they are extremely difficult to see as they looked to be tucked right in under the Ngaio trees. It was only when royal spoonbill landed almost on top of them and they all took flight did I realise they were even there. They did a half circle and quickly landed back at the same spot, the exact same spot where infact they nested last season. For that reason I think they may already be nesting as well. Just six birds were sighted hopefully more will turn up over the next couple of weeks. As this is just a fraction of the total number of Glossy Ibis sighted in Marlborough over the last few weeks.
Bill.

Great news Bill thanks for the follow up as I checked that area last Friday and saw nothing.

1ibis seen Sunday circling main feeding paddock on Dillons Point road.

Saw 2 ibis at 7.55 tonight flying north towards Rarangi over lower Opaoa river. Also 1 Royal spoonbill with bands yellow or pink over red a nd on lower leg silver. Also 10 SIPOC flying north of lower Wairau lagoon on Saturday.

At least 9 glossy ibis on the island today, including one juvenile bird that was visible for a minute or so and what appeared to be multiple nests, suggesting they are breeding here successfully again.

There was a single glossy ibis at the end of Dillon's Point Road this afternoon, in a field/backyard with long grass directly behind a house.

Spotted 6 glossy ibis flying over lower Opaoa river 2 days ago. Also have 1 white heron on river boundary.

15 ibis were reported by Dan B on the nesting island on 28 Sept 2021.
https://ebird.org/atlasnz/checklist/S95282105

I had finally spotted Banded Rail this evening, after months of trying at Beacon Road: I was plugging it into ebird and came by his notes.

You can just make out their nesting site from Beacon Rd, so waited and sure enough, 15 of the buggers came by. Heck yes! A Rail and a flock of ibis! I was chasing Cirl Buntings and Redpolls around at work in the vineyards too... it's been a happy birdday.

Surely the ibis numbers are increasing: is this the fifth year of them colony-breeding? Where do they go? Foxton?

They have definitely bred the previous three seasons - I'm not sure if anyone reported it here or not. And from what I gather from ebird, their feeding paddock, where a lot of the really excellent pictures came from, is now a vineyard, so we've lost that prime viewing site