How to attract native birds to your backyard, and how to deter problem species.
Australians are fortunate in having plenty of native birds coming to visit our backyards, and lucky to have an organisation like Birdlife Australia to help us keep track of them. Their regular surveys help us understand how birds survive in our cities and towns and how to make our backyards more bird friendly.
Bird lovers all round Australia can be ‘citizen scientists’ by joining one of Birdlife Australia’s monitoring groups, which help to safeguard our native birds. (Source: Birdlife Australia.)
Four Birds in Backyards Seasonal Surveys take place across the year, one for each of the seasons:
– Autumn (March and April)
– Winter (June and July)
– Spring (September and October)
– Summer (December and January)
People living near parks often find common backyard birds like the Rainbow Lorikeet visit their balconies. Sony NEX-5 camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens at 55mm (82.5mm in 35mm format), ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/7.1.
Even people without backyards can take part; any location near your home where you can see birds is fine, such as a local park or school. The data you collect helps research into bird numbers, their behaviour, what features of our gardens they like and what they avoid.
You don’t need expert knowledge to participate. The survey forms show you how to identify common birds while prize draws are conducted to incentivise participants to complete at least one survey per season.
Common backyard birds
The 2024 Summer Birds in Backyards survey recorded 271 species in a total of 26,335 birds. The 10 most frequently-recorded species are listed in the table below, along with the percentage of surveys in which that species was seen (reporting rate).
| Common Name | Reporting Rate |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | 43% |
| Magpie-lark | 33% |
| Australian Magpie | 31% |
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | 26% |
| Willie Wagtail | 26% |
| Noisy Miner | 25% |
| Common Myna | 23% |
| Galah | 22% |
| Spotted Dove | 21% |
| Eastern Koel | 21% |
This list changes with changing seasons. ‘Urban adapters’ like Rainbow Lorikeets and Magpie Larks are regularly among the most reported birds throughout the year, as are the deliberately introduced Spotted Dove and Common Myna. Eastern Koels are only seen in the summer months when they migrate south from tropical Australia and Indonesia.
Australian Magpies are common and found wherever there is a combination of trees and adjacent open areas. They live in groups of up to 24 birds and feed mostly on the ground, searching for insects and their larvae. Nikon Z 50 camera with Nikkor Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens at 140mm, ISO 800, 1/80 second at f/6.3, Aperture-priority AE mode with centre-weighted metering.
Climatic variations and the availability of food resources determine where different species are found. The CSIRO lists the following species as the top five species for each state and territory as follows:
Australian Capital Territory: Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Pied Currawong, Crimson Rosella, Red Wattlebird.
New South Wales: Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Superb Fairy-wren, Australian Raven, Laughing Kookaburra.
Northern Territory: Magpie Goose, Magpie-lark, Willie Wagtail, Bar-shouldered Dove, Rainbow Bee-eater.
Queensland: Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Australian Magpie, Willie Wagtail, Masked Lapwing.
South Australia: Australian Magpie, Galah, Willie Wagtail, New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird.
Tasmania: Forest Raven, Superb Fairy-wren, Masked Lapwing, Grey Fantail, Common blackbird.
Victoria: Australian Magpie, Red Wattlebird, Superb Fairy-wren, Magpie-lark, Little Raven.
Western Australia: Willie Wagtail, Australian Raven, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Australian Ringneck.
Superb Fairy-wrens like this one photographed by Dani Webb visit many gardens in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Nikon Z 8 camera with AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens at 500mm, ISO 400 1/1250 second at f/5.6.
Attracting birds
Birdlife Australia provides the following advice on attracting birds to your garden:
1. Plants that grow naturally in your area provide the right food and shelter for local native birds, unlike some hybrids or plants from other parts of Australia. They’re also less likely to become weeds in adjacent bushland areas. If you can’t get locally native plants, other natives are the next best thing.
2. Plant a mixture of species to ensure you have different plants flowering, fruiting and seeding throughout the year.
3. Select plants that will provide a complex vertical structure from the ground up, including groundcovers such as grasses or ferns, small and medium-sized shrubs plus a couple of trees (if you have space). Smaller birds need dense vegetation to nest in and also to hide from larger, aggressive or carnivorous birds.
Smaller birds like this female Superb Fairy-wren require dense vegetation for protection against predators and larger aggressive birds. OM-D E-M1 II camera with Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm f/4-5.6 lens at 300mm focal length (600mm equivalent in 35mm format), ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/5.6.
4. Reduce the area of lawn. Large areas of lawn mainly attract common and often aggressive birds.
5. Water is important for making your garden bird-friendly. Fresh water can be provided in a bird bath, hollowed boulders or a garden pond.
6. Avoid sprays and chemicals unless you really need them. Using a chemical may solve one problem but often creates another, such as toxic run-off. Birds are the best way to keep your plant-eating insects in check. Only use low-phosphorus fertilisers especially formulated for Australian native plants or mulch instead.
7. Safeguard birds from pets. According to the Threatened Species HUB, pet cats kill on average 186 mammals, birds and reptiles in a year – so keep your cat indoors. It’s safer for cats, too, and they’ll enjoy longer and healthier lives.
Many local councils provide guides for planting indigenous plants in your garden, which can help attract native birds.
To feed or not?
Bird feeders are a contentious issue as they can disrupt population balances and make some birds so dependent they risk starvation if you go away for any length of time. Only provide supplemental feeding when natural resources aren’t available.
It’s better to have a range of native plants that produce seeds, nectar and/or attract insects throughout the year and provide a needed food resource during high-demand periods like the breeding season. This also enables young fledglings to learn how to find naturally occurring foods.
There’s no reason you shouldn’t provide the occasional snack for the birds that come to your door. Most Australian birds live long lives and have relatively large brains compared to their European counterparts so they can cope with feast and famine conditions in the Australian environment.
Many common species are also nomadic, semi-nomadic or seasonally migratory and can easily adapt and switch between diets. Those that aren’t are usually restricted to one territory.
Installing a bird bath in your garden is one of the best ways to attract birds like these New Holland Honeyeaters all year round. (Image from smartphone video.)
One item you can provide is a bird bath. In a dry continent like Australia, bird baths provide vital support when there’s a risk of heat stress. They are also places where birds can socialise, clean their feathers and find refuge if they are disturbed.
Always place the bird bath out of the reach of cats and other predators. Keep it filled and make sure the water remains clean – including in winter. A dirty bath can spread disease, when many birds congregate to bathe and drink.
Problem species
What do you do when the birds in your garden are not the birds you want? They may be introduced species like Common Mynas, Starlings, Blackbirds and feral Pigeons or native species such as Noisy Miners, Pied Currawongs, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and Brush-turkeys.
Smaller birds can be hard to deter but many of the introduced species prefer tidy lawns, manicured hedges and hard surface areas. Creating a more bush-like native garden can help keep them away.
Pest species like the Common Mynas shown here prefer hard surface areas and open spaces to bush gardens. Sony ILCE-7M2 camera with Tamron 50-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD lens at 300mm, ISO 2500, 1/320 second at f/6.3.
Netting fruit trees before the fruit starts to ripen keeps fruit eaters from damaging crops. Chicken wire or other mesh materials can cover shrubs and bushes to prevent some birds from nesting. If you hang pairs of colourful balls on trees in your garden, some birds see them as ‘eyes’ and try to avoid them.
Shiny reflective objects like old CDs, aluminium foil, small mirrors or even metallic wrapping paper in bushes can also deter smaller problematic birds. Larger birds like Sulphur-crested Cockatoos can be discouraged by spikes on window sills and overhangs. Removing pet food and covering compost bins will dissuade scavenging species.
Brush-turkeys are mainly a problem between May and August, when the males build a mound in which to incubate eggs. During this period they scrape up large quantities of leaves, twigs and grass and can completely re-landscape a suburban garden.
Brush-turkeys are found from the Cape York Peninsula, south through suburban Sydney to the Illawarra region of NSW. In the breeding season, males scratch debris from a radius of about 20 metres to create a mound that can be 4 metres in diameter and up to 1.5 metres high. OM-D EM-1 Mark II camera with M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f4.0 IS PRO lens at 57mm (114mm in 35mm equivalent), ISO 200, 1/40 second at f/4.5.
Although not endangered, Brush-turkeys are protected. Relocating one from your garden is difficult since they usually come back or are quickly replaced by another turkey. Physically destroying the mound won’t work as the turkey will simply start again. The best approach is to cover vulnerable areas with wire mesh to stop them from scratching.
If you can leave the turkey to display his natural behaviour you’ll be rewarded with an excellent subject for your camera. Once the mound is built, the turkey will re-use it in subsequent years and his need to destroy your garden is often reduced. On the plus side, Brush-turkeys are very good at keeping garden bugs under control.
If you can tolerate an Australian Brush-turkey you’ll find he provides plenty of photo opportunities. EM-1 Mark II camera with M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f4.0 IS PRO lens at 100mm (200mm in 35mm equivalent), ISO 800, 1/25 second at f/6.3.
Useful links
Birdlife Australia’s bird-friendly garden tips
This article by Margaret Brown is an excerpt from Bird Photography pocket guide – click here to order print or ebook edition.
Pocket guide Partner: Camera House
