A colony of ibis that had made their home along the M1 at Yatala have been successfully removed.
Several birds had been found dead after nesting along the busy motorway, with the State Government stepping in to protect them against vehicle strikes.
Licenced ecologists have removed eggs and nests and also cleared vegetation near the Exit 38 site.
The three-metre-high barriers that had been put up on the side of the M1 to deter the ibis from flying into traffic will now be removed.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey says there has already been a significant reduction in ibis numbers at the Yatala site.
“Vegetation clearing established a buffer zone to the motorway and discouraged their roosting, which was creating a road safety issue when the big birds weren’t able to fly high enough over the thousands of passing vehicles,” Minister Bailey says.
“The Australian white ibis is a native bird protected in Queensland under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the measures undertaken were all done with the Act in mind,
“Managing this ibis colony moving on has been a balancing act between the safety of motorists and protecting a native bird, and I’m pleased to see the hard work to address it has been done sympathetically and successfully.
