ONE of the district’s much maligned birds – which many organisations have incorporated into their branding – is on track to be classified as Australia’s favourite bird.
As of 10am yesterday, the Australian White Ibis had amassed 17,730 votes in BirdLife Australia’s bird of the year – 5422 more votes than current runner-up, the Australian Magpie.
Fifty-one birds have been shortlisted for the title, with voting closing on December 9.
The ibis is a divisive species. Locally, it is a tourist attraction thanks to a key breeding site at Reedy Lake, with Gannawarra Shire Council, Kerang Technical High School and the Gannawarra Times all incorporating the bird into its branding.
However, in urban areas, the ibis is renowned for scrounging for food from rubbish bins, leading to the nickname of “bin chicken”.
The ibis also has a strong following on social media, with some media outlets believing this cult following helping the ibis hold such a strong lead in voting compared with the Australian Magpie, Laughing Kookaburra and Tawny Frogmouth.
“We have the largest, most significant Ibis rookery in the southern hemisphere at Middle Reedy Lake and I see the opportunity to capitalise on this to promote the area locally would be fantastic,” Murray Mallee Landcare Network co-ordinator, Angela Hird said.
“I thought if we promote the comp. around our shire, vote and win, this could bring the media spotlight here.
“On the back of recent round-table discussions and community and government trying to work together to decide where mutual value lies, this is a huge opportunity to get the conversations started about the value of the ibis.”
People can add their vote online here.
