If you’ve ever seen an ibis pulling rubbish out of a smelly public bin, or swashbuckling a meal from a distracted picnicker, you know it’s a frustrating sight.

Ibises will be even more active now that their breeding season is underway. While they can be slightly challenging neighbours, there are four top reasons why ibises actually make great Backyard Buddies.

Backyard Buddies is a free program run by Australia’s Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.

Each month, you get a Backyard Buddies email (B-mail) with tips to make your backyard inviting and safe for native animals.

White Ibises feature in the August B-mail. Sign up for B-mail and download a free factsheet about White Ibises at www.backyardbuddies.net.au.

1) Ibises make great gardeners

THE White Ibises like to eat up beetle larvae. This helps protect your garden, as beetle larvae eat the roots of grasses and other plants.

The ibis’ long beak is great for aerating the soil, allowing air, water and nutrients to penetrate your plant’s roots.

As the White Ibis moves around, eating up garden bugs, their droppings also help fertilise your soil with nitrogen, which helps keep your lawn green and lush.

2) Ibises fight locust plagues

EVERY farmer’s worst nightmare is a massive swarm of locusts descending on their crops.

The White Ibis, while it can’t stop a big plague, can stuff its belly full of locust nymphs before they have formed into flying adults.

The more ibises around, the fewer locusts that farmers have to deal with.

3) Ibises are true romantics

A male White Ibis is quite the gentleman.

During breeding season, males will congregate on a tree and claim a branch as their stage.

When a female comes close, they will all start bowing deeply to her to try to impress her.

When she spots her favourite male, she flies over to him and he will offer her a branch in his beak.

Maybe this is a symbol of the nest and family they can build together.

4) Ibises have nowhere else to go

IT might seem like ibis numbers are increasing in our cities. In their natural, rural habitats, however, ibises are facing big declines.

Water being diverted away from wetlands and into farming, combined with severe droughts, has left these birds with no alternative but to adapt to a new way of life in our towns and cities.

“So the next time you see a White Ibis strolling across a lawn, be thankful. They are not only helping with the gardening, they are also fighting plagues and looking after their families.

Most importantly, they are just trying to survive in rapidly shrinking habitats,” said Ms Susanna Bradshaw, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.

Tips for living happily with ibises:

• Secure your bins

• Tell the council if you see ibises pulling rubbish from public bins, so that the problem can be resolved with a lid

• Avoid feeding ibises so they don’t learn that humans have tasty food for the taking

• Don’t leave food scraps lying around as they are bad for native animals to eat and can promote harmful algal blooms, polluting our waterways.

• Plant native trees, instead of the exotic palms that ibises like to nest in

“It is quite amazing how adaptable the White Ibis is,” Ms Bradshaw said.

“As their natural wetland habitats in rural parts of Australia have been drying up, they have been able to set up new homes in our towns and cities.

It would be nice to see them strolling through the natural wetlands once more and no longer needing to scavenge through our rubbish bins and tips.”

If you see a White Ibis walking around with a wing tag or coloured leg bands, snap a picture. 

You can then be a part of a citizen science project aimed at better understanding these birds and their movement patterns.

To get involved, simply email the details to ibis.sightings@gmail.com or head to the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme website.

Interesting facts about the White Ibis

• During the breeding season a small patch of skin underneath their wing changes from dull pink to dark scarlet.

• When flying, flocks of Australian White Ibis form distinctive V-shaped flight patterns.

• Another common name for this bird is Sacred Ibis, but this name is more appropriate for the closely related African species.

“Ibises may not be the prettiest birds. But their long beaks, bald heads and long legs all help to keep these birds dry while they reach into the water, mud or soil in search of insects, fish and molluscs,” said Ms Bradshaw.

Share your photos of White Ibises and other native species on the Backyard Buddies Facebook page to enter into the August Photo Comp at www.facebook.com/backyardbuddies.