From eBird.org, we learned that the long-billed visitor to Donald last week is identified as Threskiornis spinicollis – or more familiarly, “the straw-necked ibis”.

A flock of forty of the feathered fliers alighted in the grassed area across Byrne Street from St. Mary’s School playing area.

They were enjoying a meal, until the arrival of the photographer, at which point they took off into the trees ajoining the Richardson River.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 22 August 2023.