For the last four months a team of environmental scientists have been ‘moving on’ a flock of avian squatters from the man-made islands in Dawkins Park, Macksville.
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Council enlisted the help of Ecosure under the Australian White Ibis Management Plan, passed by the council earlier this year.
The first clean-up operations began on June 14 with the onset of the breeding season, and scientists, Trudy Thompson and Avery Keller, have been on-site fortnightly ever since in an effort to control the overpopulation.
The two canoe over to the islands, record numbers of nests, eggs and birds observed, and then deconstruct the ibis nests by scattering the debris across the islands and smashing the eggs.
According to the pair, the islands are pretty messy.
“Yeah, it’s not a pretty job,” Avery said.
The latest report shows a dramatic reduction in ibis numbers on the islands since June (777) to 252 last month. In August 190 nests and 285 eggs were destroyed.
And now a significant number of other birds (primarily spoonbills and purple swamp hens) are appearing on the islands at dusk.
The council said management activities were in accordance with the ibis management plan but it was considering other bird species.
One concern is that birds evicted from Dawkins Park will roost in other residential areas, so council is keeping an eye on the Gordon Park rainforest as a place of interest. While 200 adult ibis were recorded in July, there were only 20 observed there in August.
The council said the nest/egg removal and monitoring process would continue to ensure its efficacy. The impetus for change came from worrying water tests raising the potential for storm water overflow to cause issues in the Nambucca River.
Council is now seeking quotes on how to deal with the 3.5 megalitres of sludge in the lake caused by an over-abundance of faecal coliforms – a biofiltration system, gross pollutant traps, floating wetlands are all in the mix. But money is tight after a grant application for $200,000 was denied.
The council has spent $42,000 on operations to date which has included, water quality testing, surveying, some general maintenance to existing pumps, aerators and stormwater inlets, landscape planning, stormwater management investigations and options report, preparation of the Ibis Management Plan and implementation of the ibis management activities.
Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
