White Ibis studies in Sydney Region

["Mike Carter" <>]

On 12 January 2008, 10 Australian White Ibis and 170 Straw-necked Ibis were 
at the Banyan Waterhole, a remnant of the once extensive Carrum-Carrum 
swamps SE of Melbourne. Nothing particularly remarkable about that one might 
think unless one knows some history. 150 years ago, when Horace Wheelwright 
frequented this swamp, he saw Ibis only once or twice and his description of 
the bird is an amalgam of White and Straw-necked Ibis. Just when and why the 
population exploded here on the Mornington Peninsula, I'm not sure. But 
they've increased since I arrived in 1964 and where then there were none, 
there is now a huge colony on Mud Islands in Port Phillip Bay.
Wheelwright published his experiences in 1861 in Bush Wanderings of a 
Naturalist, or Notes on the Field Sports and Fauna of Australia Felix, now 
available from Oxford University Press.
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza  VIC 3930
Tel  (03) 9787 7136