Threskiornis spinicollis ephemeralis

["martin butterfield" <>]

For most of this year I have been surprised at how few Ibis there have been aroun Canberra.  I had guessed they had all taken off to the macquarie and other Marshes for a little procreation leave. 

 

On Tuesday I was driving performers from the Folk Festival around Canberra and had to pass along the Monaro Highway towards Fyshwick.  I noticed a very large (guess about 200) flock of Straw-necked Ibis on the turf farm to the East of the road.  Due to the pouring rain I had to concentrate somewhat on keeping the car on the road so couldn't count them at all precisely.  Also lots of Silver Gulls, Australian Magpies and Raven spps.

 

Yesterday (ie Thursday) driving towards Civic at about 10:45 am there seemed to be a similar sized flock of the Ibis on the ovals at Duntroon, visible from whatever Parkes Way is called at that point.  When I got back there about 13:45 there was not a single ibis on the Duntroon ovals and only about 10 on the turf farm.

 

Presumably they had been finding lots of reptiles and invertebrates on the wet grass and headed off somewhere else as dryness happened.

 

Martin