“Too Bad I Can’t Eat Oysters”
This white ibis from last week appears rather forlorn, or perhaps simply bewildered to be standing amid a huge oyster bed in the salt marsh. Although oysters are quite commonly consumed by humans… otters and even a raccoon may occasionally eat them. Sadly however, despite the abundance of oysters in the marshland, they are not something an ibis can eat.
But oysters are good for the environment and help keep the water clean. Oysters are filter feeders, and can filter up to 5 liters of water per hour as they eat. So even though they do not provide meals for ibis, the oysters are very useful because they give clean water to the fish, birds and the rest of us!
Phil Lanoue Photography 
Happy New Year Phil. Great shot as usual.
Thanks Edith and HNY!
Very nice shot Phil.
Thanks much Jan!
Nice shot! You would think there would be some good worms or bugs around all of those oysters.
Thanks! The ibis often do pick under and around the oysters for fish, eels, crabs, and other sorts of small marine crustaceans. The guy was doing just that a bit later.
He seems to be disappointed that he can’t eat those delicious oysters. Great shot.
He does seem disappointed he can’t eat the oysters, and sad to be alone without his friends out there.
i LOVE oysters.
We eat them even if not often…too expensive!
Wonderful pic!
ciao
Giusy (Italy)
Thank you so much for your kind comments. Yes even here they are expensive.
Good to know that oysters give clean water to fish, birds, and us. Thank you, Phil! Have a great week!
Thank you for looking and commenting Amy I appreciate it!
That’s a very urban looking oyster environment. They appear to live right on top of each other. I’m guessing those oysters indicate pollution free water. Great picture. 🙂
Yes there does seem to be some verticle urban sprawl going on out there in the oyster beds.
Like the old saying goes about people who live in cities…they must really like their neighbors to want to live so close to them. 🙂
Great shot and I love your title, Phil. Informative, too, about the tasty bivalves. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much Jane, I appreciate you looking and commenting!
Sembra proprio triste poverino, tanta abbondanza ma per lui niente! Bellissima foto Phil
Ciao, Pat
Ci sono un sacco di mangiare, ma non per il povero uccello. 😦 Grazie Pat 😀
By your photos the ibis eats a lot of things so it’s probably OK that they don’t eat everything.
Yeah this porky guy looks like he has not missed too many meals. They are good at sticking those long curved bills into all sorts of places.
He does seem quite perplexed! Wonder shot of his state of confusion. I never knew that an Ibis could not eat Oysters. Is it because they are so difficult to open?
It’s funny, I have never seen any bird attempt to crack open and eat an oyster. Even the alligators leave them alone.
Around here it would be mostly only people that would dig them out to eat.
Hmmm… I wonder if some oysters in my backyard fish pond would help to clear the water…. 😉
Why not give it a try? If they don’t end up doing the job for you eat them. 😉
Great shot of a wonderful bird.
Thanks a bunch! I appreciate you looking and commenting!
¡Buena foto Phil!, que raro que la gente pague tanto por las ostras y este muchacho no le guste jajajajajjaja
Este pájaro no va a pagar por sus cangrejos tampoco. Le encanta cangrejos frescos 😀
He does look rather down in the dumps, doesn’t he? Another superb shot, Phil, and interesting info to go with it. Have a great day in the swamp. 🙂
Thanks very much for checking out this photo Sylvia and I appreciate your kind words.
Well the ibis knows that although it can not eat the oysters, tasty treats can often be found under and around them. 🙂
My goodness. It’s a variation of the old saw about “water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink”! He does look rather bewildered.
I saw my ibis crew for a second time. They were in the same place, and they showed up after another light rain. I’m going to start keeping an eye out for them – whatever the rain is doing, it seems to be suiting them rather well.
The rain could be bringing up insects or something they enjoy eating. I have seen groups of them in the grass along side a parking lot after a heavy rain all picking at something.
This is right next to the salt marsh and the shoreline where they could be feeding, but there is something that pops out of the grass after rain that they like.
This guy anyway went back to picking around and under the oysters after I took this shot.
Wow Wow Wow So beautiful ❤
Thank you for looking and commenting, I appreciate it! 🙂
Poor guy, he does look a bit distressed that there is nothing to eat.
Yeah but he ends up doing OK. He ate a ton of those tiny glass shrimp.