I believe every Highveld and Bushveld garden has regular visits from the hadeda ibis. There is no better way to control garden snails as well as earthworms and other critters.
We very rarely see the equally beautiful cousin in our gardens – the ubiquitous but garden-shy African sacred ibis. On the other hand, our golf courses are full of them – especially near rivers, or after rain (and in standing water). The photo is from Zwartkops Golf Course after a recent rain, and gives immediate hints as to the gregarious nature of the birds.
The course is always full of hadedas, particularly on the mown fairways. The sacred ibises are also always present in lesser numbers, but stay on the river banks – until it rains. Then sacred ibises arrive through a bush telegraph (we must have had at least 200 at times in February). They are happy to mix with the hadedas, but the photo gives a clue to their differences; the sacred ibises feed in the unmown waterlogged areas.
The key difference is dietary. Whereas the sacred ibis is quite willing to eat earthworms, and indeed do share dietary requirements with the hadedas, (and are incredibly adaptable as to diet), they will generally rather eat frogs and creatures that inhabit swampy terrain. These ostensibly minor difference in diet preference results in a different prey hunting pattern. In turn their preference leads to the sacred ibis being classified as a wader.
The good news is that sacred ibis breeding is about to start. Look out for them in the wetter areas near your home!
