A large colony of ibis has mysteriously disappeared from Lake Alford in Gympie, sparking concern among local wildlife carers.
ANARRA Wildlife Rescue president Lesley Swift said the disappearance was reported by long-time bird watcher and ANARRA member Janine Graham, who visits the lake daily to monitor the health of its water birds.
“Janine advised us that all of the ibis that were nesting on the pontoons installed by Gympie Council around the islands on the lake have disappeared,” Ms Swift said.
In a message shared with ANARRA, Ms Graham said she had noticed the birds were gone from the pontoons on the playground side of the lake.
“There were multiple nests and around 50 birds a week ago,” Ms Graham said.
“They were still nesting there on the 13th of October when Robin called me about a rescue. They did not all fledge at the same time, and even if they did, they would return to the nest at night. I was there early evening last night and took a video this morning.”
The disappearance follows earlier reports that a number of ibis were shot at the lake several weeks ago, although the actual number and exactly when that occurred have not been confirmed.
Ms Swift said ANARRA was seeking to understand what had happened to the birds.
“We are aware that Gympie Regional Council used to pay contractors to remove the ibis from the lake, and question whether they would have a current permit for this removal,” she said.
Gympie Regional Council was approached for comment and will be providing a formal statement, but also stated that the council was in no way involved with either of the events leading to the removal of the birds, indicating a possible police investigation.
A spokesperson at the Gympie Station said the matter had been referred to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services for investigation (QPWS).
The Department of Environment, Technology, Science and Innovation, the body that oversees the QPWS, has also been contacted for a response.
