Birds in Backyards - Karrinyup

Karrinyup has proved to be a wonderful place for birdlife. There are two golf courses and several nearby reserves: Star Swamp, Carine Open Space and Lake Gwelup. The suburb was mostly established in the 1960s and 1970s when native gardens were popular.

However this is rapidly changing as more "Mac-Mansions" are appearing and trees are being chopped down to make way for larger homes.

Our nearby Padstow Reserve is an important refuge for some of the shyer bush birds which may not venture into gardens. A severe bush fire swept through the Reserve in January 2007 and since then there have been lots of unusual bird sightings in our garden. In addition to the usual range of Wattlebirds, Singing, Brown, and New Holland Honeyeaters, we have been seeing White Cheeked Honeyeaters and the glorious Western Spinebills. This is probably due to the fire, but also the hot, dry summer. We have two bird baths which certainly attract lots of birds.

The photo above is a female Western Spinebill. We have seen the more stunning male too, but haven't managed to get a photo, yet.

I have been surveying the birds around our
garden since 1999 and have a Karrinyup garden species list of 30:

Spotted and Laughing Turtledoves (introduced species)
Port Lincoln Ringneck (28)
Galah
Corella
Corella Longbilled (introduced from Eastern States)
Carnaby'sWhite Tailed Black Cockatoo (endemic to WA and endangered)
Rainbow Lorrikeet (introduced from Eastern States, this one's a big worry)
Kookaburra (introduced from Eastern States)
Rainbow Bee-eater
Red Wattlebird
Western Spinebill (endemic to WA)
Singing Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
White Cheeked Honeyeater
Australian Raven
Magpie
Magpie Lark
Grey Butcherbird
Black Faced Cuckoo-Shrike
Willie Wagtail
Striated Pardalote
Silvereye
Welcome Swallow
Kestrel
Boobook Owl
Tawny Frogmouth
Australian Hobby
Buff banded Rail (found dead, probably hit by a car during a night flight between the local wetlands)