Backyard Buddies

Date: 17 August 2005 07:21:04

I was listening to the breakfast programme on my local ABC station as I was driving to work today (I'm generally either tuned into it or NewsRadio). Debbie was talking to a fellow from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service about the increasing number of native animals making Sydney and outer-Sydney suburbs home.

Photo from NSW NPWS

It was fascinating to hear about the different types of animals moving back into the suburbs, and even into people's backyards. A list of the more common animals can be found here. Such diverse species from owls to lyrebirds (who are fantastic imitators of sounds) to brush turkeys (who build large mounds for nests from leaf-litter) to wombats to bowerbirds (who love, and steal, anything blue).

A bird I have never heard of, but would love to hear (and see), is the Green Catbird, so called because it's call is like a cat crying (you can hear it on the page linked).

Fascinating stuff. Around my area we have a kookaburra that wakes all with its laugh early in the morning, and our backyard is often visited by various types of parrots and cockatoos, magpies and willie wagtails. We have several native plants which attract them, and it's always wonderful to hear their calls, and see their beautiful and colourful plumage.

Thanks be to God for His wondrous creation.