This is so exciting, I have to share it with fellow birdlovers:
after buying our property in Wollongong, we spent several years regenerating (i.e.weeding) the adjoining bushland and planted more than 1000 native plants in our garden.
About 5 years later, lyrebirds started to move (back) in - fortunately, after the plants were established.
My husband just visited the tenants in our house there (we now live in North Queensland), and saw a big lyrebird's nest on top of our garden shed (which we had surrounded with climbing plants, that now form a nice, tangled mess on the shed roof).
This is almost a reason to move back there!!
Wow tompm that is brilliant!
Your Wollongong place sounds amazing - I am a Wollongong girl too. Is there any chance your tenants would be willing to share some photos - both of the nest and of the amazing garden that you have put so much time into. I am always looking for ways to inspire people in their gardens.
Hi Holly,
I am still waiting to see a photo of the nest, myself. I do have some inspiring photos of the changes in our garden from weeds and lawn to beautiful native bush, but have to find them (and am rather busy at the moment). I can email them to you, when I get around to it.
If you want to PM me (I now know what that means), I can give you my email adress and phone number and you can come and have a look at our garden (and hopefully the nest) in the second half of January, when we plan to be there for a week .
Christina
Christina
`That's so exciting, christina. I'm most interested to hear of your bush regeneration as well as the development of your native garden at Wollongong. Are you doing likewise in northern Queensland? Were/are you using minimum disturbance techniques a` la the Bradley sisters?
Hi Woko!
Yes, what a thrill! I wish I had been there to watch the construction. I have to get more info from our tenants.
Having been booksellers for more than 25 years, one of the first books we got was the Bradley's "bringing back the bush".
It seemed the most sensible way of doing it, and it worked a treat. Over the years Wollongong council established a bush care program, and they have been very supportive.
Not being that young and energetic anymore, we chose a property near Kuranda, that not only has fantastic wildlife (this morning, within 5 minutes, I saw a pair of grey goshawks doing a dance in the sky, then a pacific baza-calling loudly-, and then a sea-eagle soared past), but also wasn't as weed-infested. A tiny patch of lantana, some Singapur daisies and a lot of Syngonium, which is now only showing up in very small numbers.
A bit more problematic is the planting of new plants: they need to be protected from digging brush-turkeys, scrub fowls and bandicoots, and pademelons like to eat most shrubbery.
Christina
Christina
You've done me a power of good (as major Bloodknock of the Goons would have said), Christina. I'm also using the Bradley method together with a few things I've learned along the way which were probably thought of by the Bradleys anyway. Protecting new plantings from destruction is very time & energy consuming, I find. Good luck with what you're doing at Kuranda. The lyre birds at your place in Wolongong speak for what you've done there!
There's nothing more satisfying than seeing birds (and other animals) make use of a plant, that you put there. Without that tangle of climbers on the shed roof, it would not have been attractive to the lyrebird, and who knows, maybe a ringtail possum will use the old nest. We've identified 75 species of birds in our small suburban plot, which, fortunately, borders onto bushland.
Here in Kuranda, at this time of the year, when it's been extremely dry for more than 3 months, I have to do the rounds every day to check on all the smaller plants. You can't blame the brush -turkeys, and those superdiggers, the orange-footed scrubfowls, for looking for food in the only places where the earth is soft and moist. Surrounding plants with chickenwire, rocks and every branch and stick one can find, is not a pretty sight, but necessary for at least 2 years.
Christina
Christina
Spot on, Christina. Brush turkeys & scrub fowl are doing what brush turkeys & scrub fowl do.
Unsightliness has its uses, that's for sure. Protective materials around plants are great places for birds to sit, ants to tunnel & lizards to sun themselves. Oh yes, & they protect plants, too.
How awesome is that? Yes, I'd be tempted to shift back too!
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
Well, Kuranda isn't bad either: Mr Cassowary has just reappeared (after apparently sitting tight, on eggs, for 2 months) with 3 tiny striped chicks- but I disgress from the lyrebird topic.
Christina
wow, do we get to see Cassowary chick pics or have I not looked enough?
Peter
Dad has only just made an appearance at our neighbours across the creek. We expect to see him and the chicks here in a couple of weeks, when the little ones are big and strong enough for the crossing (the ford is very shallow at the moment).
Shall certainly take and post photos.
Christina