Mooloolaba seafront was very neat. Even the ibises are very well trained and only cross the road at pedestrian crossings. The ibis was historically rare in urban areas, but since the 1970s has decided that it would like the better facilities and in particular the better food scraps offered in towns and cities. They are most commonly found in open public areas, often gathered around the bins. Their large downcurved bill originally evolved for them to eat crustaceans, but they seem to have worked out that it is ideal for ferreting around in bins.
This has led to them getting a colorful selection of nicknames. Queenslanders often know them as bin chickens, but they have also been called dumpster divers, flying rats and tip turkeys. These are a lot easier to say than their proper name of Threskiornis molucca. Some argue though that the ibis is misunderstood. In the 1970s their traditional wetland habitat was being lost due to urbanisation and changed water flows, so they adapted their behaviour and moved into the urban areas. This marks them out against many other species as a survivor, able to adapt to a changing environment. Nevertheless, tourists tend to find them much more intriguing than locals!
Anyway, we had headed to Mooloolaba for lunch at a seafront restaurant. This was excellent – Anne and I had macadamia-breaded barramundi on a bed of pumpkin and spinach and feta cheese. A lovely meal …. We had a short walk out to the pierhead and obligingly a pair of dolphins swam past at just the right moment. On the way back we spotted an osprey’s nest at the top of a post on the spit. There were two baby ospreys in the nest, patiently waiting for their next meal.
We headed back via a great bookshop in Maleny and when we got back to Flaxton, the bird theme continued with four Kookaburras, three rainbow lorikeets and five crested doves in the tree behind Dene and David’s.
