We had one house sit where there was a large family of kookaburras living close by. There was quite a large stand of well established trees out the back of the garden and they lived in there. They came around the house several times a day. We were delighted when we found out from the owners as they were showing us around their home that they fed the kookaburras each night with a little left over meat.
This was a very pretty garden, and the kookaburras came regularly. In the background is the stand of trees where the kookaburras lived.
In the past we have had aviaries and bred birds, so Peter was thrilled to bits. On our first trip to the local supermarket he got a small packet of mince, and started to make friends with them. It didn't take long before we were accepted as part of the furntiture. Peter had some of them eating out of his hand within a few weeks.
Another species that seems to live in many parts of Australia is the king parrot. Whereas the kookaburras are quite noisy, chattering away, laughing and flying around, the king parrots are absolutely silent. You don't know they are there until you see them. We have often been surprised to suddenly see a pair of them close by. They don't seem to like us to get too close, but like the other birds, once they know you are there, they seem to accept you more. This pair below would often come in the afternoon. They are truly beautiful birds.
The people in this house on the Sunshine Coast had a bird feeder on the back fence, and most afternoons these beautiful parrots would come and fill up.
Another house sit in NSW had a huge back garden and although you can't see much in this picture, there was a bird feeder in the trees, and this little table and chairs lived there so the owners, and we, could take our afternoon tea out there and watch the birds in the late afternoon. This was another garden that had king parrots visit regularly.
Our present house sit has a different kind of wildlife. There are quite a few species of birds. We have kookaburras that live in some very tall gum trees on the front lawn, but we never have any contact with them. They greet the dawn every day and say goodnight at dusk every night, but we have never been able to get close to them.
There are the usual lorrikets, several varieties actually, crested pidgeons, minahs, often galahs, and from time to time we know sulphur crested cockatoos are in the area, we can hear their screeching. We often sit and watch the lorikeets, they are so noisy and bossy. This home has a large garden of about an acre. The front lawn is sloping and planted with lots of well established trees that attract quite a few birds.
At the back we have another large area of lawn planted with many trees. Right up the back is what I call, 'the little wilderness' area. It is a little more overgrown, on rather steep land. We have seen pheasants, bush turkeys and possums.
I'm sure there are a few hidey holes for snakes up there too. One of the more unusual animals we have are some hares. They often come down to the front lawn at night and forage around. We saw a dead hare up the road one day and wondered if it was one of ours, but we have since seen ours around about.
Other visitors we have daily are a famly of pied butcher birds. They live somewhere close by. Every morning one or two of them come for bread. One of them is much tamer and he sits on a large pot by the back door, chattering to me, waiting til I bring out something for him. I haven't been able to hand feed him yet, but he is okay when I get quite close to him. He, or she, eats and chatters and talks away for quite a long time, then eventually takes off with any left overs.
There are very few cats in the area and only a few dogs, and they don't roam free, so the birds seem to feel quite safe. Having such close contact with these fabulous creatures in many different settings is one of the best things about house sitting.
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