Wildlife in your Suburban Garden

Unfortunately, wildlife is very mobile, and this can make it hard to see. However, there are a number of things that you can do to make your garden 'Fauna Friendly.' How can you encourage wildlife to make your garden home, and save yourself work at the same time?

The easiest way is to provide food and water and suitable habitat. The provision of food and habitat can be as simple as planting native trees, shrubs and ground covers. If you stop mowing a small area, it will also save you time and money, while making your yard far more attractive to wildlife.

Insects

Insects are often neglected, but there are many beautiful and interesting insects, such as butterflies and dragonflies. And don't forget that many insects are beneficial to the garden, and will also provide a ready food source for other creatures, such as lizards and birds.

There are plants that will attract insects, such as acacias, alphitonias and lomandras. And don't forget the Aristolochia praevenosa vine to provide for the now rare Richmond Birdwing Butterfly. (Make sure you don't get the poisonous Dutchmen's pipe, which appears very similar.)

Frogs

Frogs can be provided for by simply installing a pond. They will find the pond. There is no need to import them. The pond should be shaded with native plants. But you must watch that you are not also catering for the introduced cane toad. Cane toad eggs in your pond are easily identified, as they are in long strings of jelly. On the other hand, frog eggs are generally frothy clumps. Once the eggs hatch, it is a little difficult to tell the tadpoles apart, so expert help may be required to identify them.

Frogs and native toads come in many sizes and colours, so look carefully before you decide to dispatch that 'cane toad.' If you are unsure, it is better to let a cane toad live, than to kill a frog.

Reptiles

Reptiles such as lizards will happily feed on insects in your garden. In fact, the blue tongue lizard will gladly eat all those annoying snails. So forget the snail bait, or you will kill those lovely lizards.

Lizards also need a place to hide from predators. Leaf litter, rocks and logs are all places for them to shelter and escape from predators in the form of birds and family pets. Take care turning over the compost heap, as blue tongues seem to like living in there. Reptiles eat many of the pests we don't like, so they are a dual benefit in the suburban yard.

Birds

Bird watching is one of the world's most popular pastimes. A bird bath and flowering plants such as callistemons, melaleucas, banksias and grevillias will all attract nectar and pollen eating birds. Native grasses, lomandras, casuarinas and native figs may attract parrots, finches and other fruit and seed eating species.

Birds also need somewhere to roost and make their homes - eucalypts can fill this role. Parrots, rosellas, etc, need tree hollows for homes, but if your tree isn't yet old enough to have hollows, you might like to install a nest box. Small birds, like finches and wrens, need dense bushes they can shelter in to avoid predators, such as kookaburras and butcherbirds.

Mammals

Eucalypts are of particular importance to many animals, as they eat the leaves or flowers. For koalas and Greater Gliders, the eucalyptus leaf is their sole food source. Other animals who dine in these trees and on the blossoms of other trees, such as melaleucas (paper barks), are Ringtail Possums, Sugar Gliders and Flying Foxes.

You may not see all of these animals in a suburban garden, but the koalas and possums are likely to be there. Possums have been to known to dine in compost heaps and on garden flowers. If you are lucky enough to live next to bush land, you may also have wallabies and bandicoots visiting.