Lewisham Ibis

There are some palm trees at Lewisham Station which have become home to many Australian White Ibis.
These birds are found Australia wide, except in the driest inland areas.
They have become habituated in urban areas since the 70s, and particularly since the millennial drought.
It is estimated that there are12 000 in Sydney.

The first big colony set up in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown and started to cause anxiety in the local community. It is estimated the colony was the largest outside the Macquarie Marshes, their natural breeding wetland in inland NSW.
They have a well deserved reputation as 'tip turkeys' or 'bin chickens' and are usually very grubby.
I spotted this nest of three chicks high up in the top of a palm tree. They've not yet visited a bin and so were pristine and very cute. I spent some time watching them. The one on the right was very bossy and demanding, as is clear in the main blip and extras.
They are naked and helpless at birth, and take 48 days to fledge.


The Macquarie Marshes in north-western New South Wales was one of the main areas for breeding, but none has been reported breeding there since 2000, from 11,000 pairs in 1998.