Extract from ABC News
Magpies are among the bird species Australians commonly see around their homes and gardens. (Adobe Stock)
Our recent stories about attracting fauna to gardens, and the dos and don'ts of feeding wild birds, prompted many of you to share your own experiences.
Here are some of the birds and animals you have encountered in your gardens and the small things people are doing to encourage wildlife to hang around.
Sharing appropriate snacks with some visitors
While it isn’t allowed in some areas, the urban ecologists we spoke with said appropriate feeding of wild birds can be beneficial to our relationship with wildlife.
A bandicoot grazing in the grass at Peggy Bogar's home in north-east Tasmania. (Supplied: Peggy Bogar)
Peggy Bogar from Scamander in Lutruwita/Tasmania's north-east says she has observed a variety of native animals in her garden, including "goannas, lizards, frogs, native hens, kangaroos and possums", as well as birds such as magpies, kookaburras, ducks, black cockatoos and white cockatoos.
On Kaurna Country, north-east of Adelaide, Bev Hennessy has had encounters with koalas and kangaroos on her 3,000 square metre block.
She also puts wild bird mix out and has regular visits from resident galahs, eastern rosellas and magpies, as well as seasonal stop-ins from eastern spinebills, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, southern boobook owls and pacific black ducks and their ducklings.
Galahs are regular visitors at Bev Hennessy's house near Adelaide. (Supplied: Bev Hennessy)
Kay Cavanagh, who lives in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland, on the traditional lands of the Kalkadoon people, has been buying seed blocks for her feathered visitors to snack on.
"So far I have peewees, a very small black and white bird with a beautiful call that no-one seems to know of, spinifex or crested pigeons, willy wagtail and an occasional small kingfisher," she says.
Planting native vegetation
Dalton Dupuy, who lives in regional South Australia, says his family has been rewilding the surrounds of their house for the past six years, which has helped encourage a range of birds and animals.
"We have had blue-tongues, echidnas and koalas in the yard during that time," he says.
"We have cockatoos, little ravens, wattle birds, a couple species of honeyeaters, magpies, seagulls, magpie larks, wagtails and crested pigeons who [visit] daily and then the occasional visitor including white-faced herons [and] various raptors."
In 2020, Beryl Plummer started cultivating an indigenous native garden at her home near Ballarat, on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung and the Dja Dja Wurrung peoples, and says in addition to the vegetation producing food for invertebrates, she provides water for birds.
She has since seen "grey shrikethrushes, New Holland honeyeaters, eastern spinebills, rainbow lorikeets, eastern rosellas, crimson rosellas and the occasional sparrowhawk".
Providing a helping hand
Steve and Vera Bentley, who live in Camira, west of Brisbane, on the traditional lands of the Yagara language group, say their family have made several adjustments to their surroundings to make it a welcoming environment for wildlife.
A brushtail possum that has made a home in one of Steve and Vera Bentley's nesting boxes. (Supplied: Vera Bentley)
"We have nest boxes for birds, small bats, possums, and squirrel gliders [are] living in one of them," Steve says.
They also have three large frog hotels, three bird baths, logs "in varying states of decay" to provide food and "two large composting bins, which green frogs sit on to catch incoming and outgoing insects".
"We do not use any toxic sprays in the garden. Several times a week we go out at night to catch any cane toads, and we do not have any pets."
In Frankston/Monmar, south-east of Melbourne, Chloe Coulson says she was inspired to start trying to attract native wildlife to her garden during COVID.
Chloe has installed an insect hotel, which has helped her attract native bees to her garden. (Supplied: Chloe Coulson)
"It's still a work in progress but I'm starting to see results," she says.
After planting indigenous flowers and an insect hotel, her garden is now home to a variety of native bees.
"I installed nest boxes for lorikeets and rosellas and have planted some flowering trees to attract them and I now have lots of nectar-eating birds around … none [are] using the nest boxes yet.
"More recently I installed a birdbath and planted smaller bushes and prickly things for little birds, so we will see how that goes. I've had bats, possums and all sorts of insects and birds in my garden, I'm hoping to see more in the future as my garden grows."
Keeping pets inside
Canberra resident Kat Waterhouse says it's important to "keep pets separate from wildlife".
"It's no good creating a backyard haven for native wildlife if that haven includes pet predators."
It's a sentiment shared by Western Sydney resident Margaret Bamford
"My cats are inside at night and until well after dawn," she says.
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