The City of Greater Bendigo last week confirmed that plans to rejuvenate the pond next to the Faith Leech Aquatic Centre will likely include efforts to make the area less appealing to roosting birds.

Several people living or working near the pond have said the smell and noise from the ibises are an issue.

Related: Days numbered for Barnard Street ibises

However, Wildlife Rescue and Information Network committee member Michelle Mead said whittling down the number of local habitats only moves the problem to a different area.

“The solution isn’t to just keep moving them on because then they find a new spot and become more concentrated,” Mrs Mead said.

“The more concentrated they are the more the smell and contamination of waterways becomes an issue.

“Have lots of favourable habitats. Then ibises will spread themselves out and become less concentrated.”

The city’s director of presentation and assets Debbie Wood did not nominate specific areas in town the council would prefer ibises could go, but did say the birds liked habitats like swamps, lagoons, floodplains and grasslands.

“They sometimes inhabit urban parks, gardens and water bodies which can be challenging for councils to manage due to odour complaints by residents and users of these areas,” she said.

“The city has faced issues with large numbers of ibis congregating at Lake Weeroona and Lake Neangar in the past and has, with permission from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning undertaken works to encourage the ibis to move on.”

Related: Lake Tom Thumb ‘a health hazard’

Some residents near the Barnard Street pond said they had noticed an increase in the number of ibises there since 2017, when the council cleared vegetation at Lake Weeroona.

Bendigo was not the only city to face challenges with ibises, Mrs Mead said, as the birds lost traditional wetlands and headed for new areas.

“We didn’t see them in cities years ago because they had more options,” she said.

Now, Mrs Mead said, ibises and humans needed to find ways to coexist.

“Instead of trying to get a ‘nuisance’ out of the way, wouldn’t it be a better world if we could find more creative solutions?” she said.

Ms Wood said the city worked closely with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to sustainably manage native bird populations at local parkland reserves.

Complaints about Bendigo’s ibises came up every year, especially in spring, Mrs Mead said.

“We want to use all these spaces so we see it (ibises nesting) as an inconvenience to us. People get upset because ibises are in the same wetland areas where people want to go to walk their dogs or enjoy the sun,” she said.

“People just need to put up with a little inconvenience across the spring breeding season.”

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