Birds in my garden - a list

Eastern whipbird enjoying a bath

Living on the outskirts of a tiny town nestled in a national park is an awesome experience.

I was explaining to an old high school friend, who lives in an inner suburb of Sydney, why I was having a cat-palace built, and my explanation about wanting to protect the birdlife may not have sounded particularly convincing to an urban-dweller in a place the size of Sydney. 

So, Fernando - this list is for you. These are the birds I'm relatively certain about. There are some others that I haven't managed to identify yet. By the time I get my binoculars out they've usually nicked off - but I've done the best I can to ID them using my handy Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. I've made a point of only mentioning the birds I've seen in my garden or flying over it. Elsewhere in Mallacoota I've seen a wonderful variety of birds that don't get to my yard! (or at least, I haven't seen any so far!)

The birds here aren't terribly street-wise. I'm always surprised how close they let me get with my phone-camera - look at this little fellow:

I suspect they haven't yet learned to be afraid, because most Mallacoota folk love birds, build bird-feeders to attract them, spend a fortune on birdseed etc, ha ha! I would hate to ruin the trust that has flourished between the feathered folk and the rest of us here by letting Basil do what cats love to do best.

One thing I'm learning as I get older is that balance is so very important, so I'm balancing my need for a kitteh with the need to respect the natural world in this magnificent place.

Anyway - here's the list!

Regular and occasional visitors

Rainbow lorikeet

Crimson rosella

Australian king Parrot

Galah

Red browed finch 

Superb fairy wren

New Holland honeyeater

Eastern spinebill

Satin bowerbird

Silvereye

Eastern yellow robin

Little wattlebird

Red wattlebird

Common bronzewing

Wonga pigeon

White-headed pigeon
Crested pigeon
Spotted dove

Grey fantail

Kookaburra

Sparrow

Australian wood duck

Eastern whipbird

Australian Magpie

Pied currawong

Welcome swallow

Common blackbird

Willie wagtail

Lewin's honeyeater
White-naped honeyeater (not a regular)
Scarlet honeyeater (not a regular)
Grey shrike-thrush
White-browed Scrubwren
White-winged Chough
Australian White Ibis (not a regular)
White-faced Heron
Australian owlet nightjar (wow! gorgeous)
Buff-banded Rail (that was a surprise!)
Little Corella (grrrr!)
Fan-tailed cuckoo
Pallid cuckoo
Eastern Koel
Silver Gull
Peregrine Falcon (magic! Not a regular, though)
Olive-backed Oriole
Superb Lyrebird (just once)
Australasian Figbird (not a regular)
Collared sparrowhawk
Bassian thrush
Flame Robin (once)
Tawny Frogmouth (once)
Grey Butcherbird
Spangled Drongo (I kid you not! Just once, but it was there!)
Southern Boobook
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (twice)
Spotted Pardalote
Golden Whistler
Goldfinch (once)

Flyovers:

Whistling kite

Square-tailed kite

Wedge-tailed eagle

(possibly) Little Eagle

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

Australian raven
Pelican
Grey goshawk (white morph)
Channel-billed Cuckoo
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Masked Lapwing
Magpie Lark
Fork-tailed Swift

Phew!
List updated November 2017
Updated again July 2018
...and again March 2019