#28 Springtime in the Backyard

Rarely is there a clear-cut distinction between the seasons in the Hunter Valley - one merely blends with the next. Autumn and spring are my favourite times of year, when temperatures are mild and nature is busy.

Superb Blue Fairy Wrens taking a bath in the garden

Creating a backyard environment that encourages birds and animals to visit and linger provides a fabulous opportunity to observe the habits and antics of wildlife right on our doorstep. And of course, gives back a little that we have all participated in taking from our natural surroundings.

Our homes, roads, shopping centres and schools have all displaced native flora and fauna, but with a little tolerance and understanding, we can all contribute to the welfare of the environment that we have altered to suit our modern lifestyle.

Spring is the season of regeneration and reproduction. Birds, animals and invertebrates are breeding, and plants are producing flowers and seed.

Birds in the backyard are a delight to watch. Providing habitat and water in a predator-free zone is the most effective way to attract birds to your garden. Cats and unruly dogs will dramatically limit the number and variety of native birds and animals that visit your neighbourhood.

Mr Magpie follows me as I dig my garden, and collects grubs and a wolf spider to feed his nest-bound chicks

Water is a daily necessity for most birds. By placing the water off the ground and close to a high, protected perch, birds can visit the water supply in safety. Keep water clean to prevent the spread of disease.

Spring is a great time of year for gardening. Establishing a garden with ground-covers, grasses, shrubs and trees will create a 'layered' habitat for birds and animals. Using native plants in the garden will simulate native habitat, and be drought tollerant.

Dumping garden soil and green refuse might sound like a relatively harmless way to get rid of organic waste, but it is in fact extremely detrimental to the natural environment, and should be totally avoided.

Garden soil containing seed, tubers or remains of exotic plants discarded on roadsides or in gullies or paddocks has introduced severe infestations of weeds to the countryside. These exotic plants often become rampant and displace vital native vegetation, therefore completely altering the bird, animal and intertebrate populations of an area.

It is important for gardeners to be aware of the serious and permanent impact escaped exotic plants can have on the environment as the pleasant spring days encourage us to rejuvenate our gardens.

Top: Agave americana from Mexico has at times been a popular garden plant in Australia, due to its drought-tolerant characteristics, but thoughtlessly discarded, it reproduces rampantly and displaces all other vegetation [correction edit: I had initially incorrectly labelled this plant an Aloe species from Africa - many thanks to the reader who thoughtfully corrected me]. And bottom: Fresias, like most garden bulbs, will multiply unrestricted in the wild preventing native herbs and orchids from taking hold. Garden plants might look pretty in the bush, but they are weeds, and have no place outside of the garden.

As daytime temperatures rise, reptiles will leave their winter shelters and seek food and mates. The sudden sight of a lizard tail disappearing amongst garden clutter can evoke the same fear as that of a snake sighting in our living space. But if contact is avoided, lizards are harmless, and are excellent natural insect and snail controllers.

Most lizard species only become active when the air temperature is well above 15 degrees Celcius. Consequently, most species of Hunter Valley lizard enter a torpor (semi-hibernation) over winter. They will emerge to bask in the sun on warm winter days, but will rarely feed. As the daytime temperature becomes consistantly warmer, lizards will become active.

The Eastern Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, that made its home in my fern garden earlier in the year, has returned after disappearing for the three months of winter, while the Bearded Dragon, Pogona barbata, that spent much of summer and autumn in my backyard woodheap, has also returned after a four month absence. Rainbow Skinks, Carlia tetradactyla, are also active in my gardens again.

I'm thrilled to have have at least three species of lizards living in my garden. Blue Tongue lizards also pay my yard a visit occasionally. I provide accessible water for lizards, and try not to disturb them as they bask and feed in my garden. My garden is still under construction, with no plants more than about two years old, which proves that there are lizards out there just begging for a bit of habitat.

My resident Bearded Dragon wanders off to feed in the adjoining paddock, returning to the safety of my wood heap in the evening.

Like most people, I'm not keen for snakes to make frequent visits to my backyard. But at the same time, I strongly support the right of snakes to co-exist with humans. Where possible, snakes will avoid contact with humans.

Discouraging snakes from lingering in your yard is usually as simple as controlling rodents, and eliminating rubbish, especially unused sheets of corrugated roofing iron. Most snake bites occur as the result of a person attempting to catch or kill a snake.

This venomous Eastern Brown Snake is well camouflaged basking in the brown grass on my footpath.

Wildlife Aid groups, WIRES or National Parks and Wildlife Service can usually put you in contact with a trained snake rescuer if you need a snake removed from your home, yard or workplace.

Turtles are on the move during spring, searching out mates. Long Necked Turtles, Chelodina longicollis, are common in the Hunter Valley, and at this time of year are fatally injured crossing roads.

If you can safely move a roaming turtle from the path of road traffic, do so. However, do not be tempted to relocate a turtle as they are territorial, and they know where they are going.

A Long-necked Turtle shelters in my garden overnight as it journeys in search of a mate.

And of course, there will be lots of invertebrate activity in your garden with the coming of spring. Although most invertebrates are small, they have fascinating lives - observe them, and enjoy them.

Gentle butterfly love on my back lawn

And a bit of rough stuff in the bushes

Do you have any questions ?

My neighbours think I'm a bit peculiar stretched out on my belly in the paddock peering up the skirts of mushrooms, and my adult offspring think I'm more than a little odd when I get excited at getting up close and personal with Mrs Wolf Spider's hairy knees, but my grandkids think I'm pretty cool. Life's fun. And spring time in the backyard can be a real adventure. Get stuck into it!

#23 A Frog in the Grass

Some of Australia's frogs are struggling to survive, with loss of habitat due to urban and industrial sprawl being a major contributor to their decline, so to find frogs happily living in your backyard garden is a delightful surprise.

The Spotted Grass Frog is a real cutie

Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, Spotted Grass Frog (or Spotted Marsh Frog), is a relatively common frog of the eastern states. But as with most frogs, they are more likely to be heard than seen.

Occasionally I'll uncover one when working in the garden, and it's always exciting to realise I am creating healthy frog habitat.

Creating frog habitat

Creating a frog-friendly environment in your yard is easy, and very satisfying. Frogs need moisture, shelter and food, in cat-free surroundings. Planting layers of shrubs, ground-covers and trees, as well as providing shelter in the form of rocks and logs, and a container or pond of healthy water is all that is necessary. Once the habitat is created, the frogs should eventually move in.

Notice the different colour and patterning of two Spotted Grass Frogs inhabiting the same environment

My backyard was completely bare 4 years ago, but with the introduction of grass, gardens, shrubs, mulch, water, and a bit of messiness, the frogs have moved in. I have found three species of frogs in my backyard. As frogs are primarily nocturnal, my frog encounters are mostly accidental. During the day, frogs will shelter under rocks and logs, amongst grass or other ground-hugging vegetation, or under objects in damp shady areas.

Frogs feed on insects, so they are great little predators to have in the garden. Keeping your garden free of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers will help ensure a healthy environment for frogs and their food source.

If the water you are providing for frogs comes from a town water supply, keep in mind that it will contain chemicals. Standing tap water in the sun for a week will remove chlorine. Take care not to allow household septic outflow to pool, as this contaminated water creates health hazards for all animals, both wild and domestic.

Here is another example of colour variation of the Spotted Grass Frog

Frogs and tadpoles should not be moved from one location to another, as this risks introducing disease and deadly fungi to frog populations. As frogs absorb chemicals through their skin, it is unwise to handle them, but if it is unavoidable, ensure your hands are washed and damp, and keep handling to a minimum.

Spotted Grass Frog, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis

This common little beauty grows to about 50mm in length (but more commonly, 40mm) with the female larger than the male. As illustrated in my images, colour and patterning is variable. Some specimens will have a stripe running down the middle of the back, but all have a raised fold running from just under the eye to the arm. There is slight webbing between toes, but not between fingers.

Notice the raised fold starting under the eye and ending at the arm. The skin is smooth with small bumps.

The main breeding season occurs between August and March when males call from the waters edge concealed by vegetation. Their call is a very rapid succession of "uk-uk-uk-uk-uk" repeated at intervals. Tadpoles take between 3 and 5 months to complete the metamorphosis, but length of time will vary according to the water temperature.

Spotted Grass Frogs are well camouflaged

These delightful little blotched frogs should start calling for a mate as winter draws to an end. Here is an internet page with more information and a link to their call. Keep a listen out for them as the nights begin to warm up in eastern Australia. Frogs Australia Network is an excellent internet site a comprehensive list of Australian frogs and links to information and calls.

As human population increases, pollution and habitat destruction means that frogs and other native wildlife struggle to maintain healthy populations. By creating some frog-friendly areas within your little bit of space, you will not only be able to enjoy having these beautiful creatures around you, but you can feel genuine satisfaction that you are making a positive difference.

#1 Introduction

Would you like this cute little Rainbow Skink and his mates living in your backyard?

Nothing beats a trip into the bush, but if people are aware of the possible richness of life existing in micro-environments in their immediate surroundings, backyards and town parks can provide great opportunities to observe nature's small creatures every day. If you know how to attract animals to your backyard, and where and when to observe them as they go about their secret lives, you'll be amazed at the variety of wildlife visiting, living and breeding in your yard.

Attracting wildlife to your yard

Providing clean water for birds, reptiles, frogs and small mammals is the first step in making your yard wildlife-friendly. Vegetation is also necessary and if you are able to establish a combination of trees, shrubs and ground cover in your yard, animals and invertebrates will have protection from predators and the weather.

Roaming cats and untrained dogs will deter, and even injure and kill wildlife, so your pets and your neighbours' pets also influence what animals enter and linger in your yard. A healthy population of invertebrates is not only interesting to study, but a necessary source of food for many small animals, so avoid using chemicals in your garden where possible.

Three years ago (Dec 2003) our backyard was devoid of any vegetation or structure

My husband and I relocated to a 2/3 acre house block a few kilometers from town amongst dairying and grazing country in the Hunter Valley NSW. Our new yard adjoined another residence and a grazing paddock and consisted of a few neglected gardens, dead and dying melaleucas, and weeds. There was nothing worth saving, so we had it levelled.

Like much of the country, the Hunter Valley has been drought stricken for several years, so water availability was a major consideration in planning our yard. We constructed raised native gardens in the front lawn, and vegetable patch and herb garden in the backyard. We planted twenty native shrubs, along with four exotic trees that will grow taller than the natives.

After two years our backyard is beginning to take shape with gardens, shrubs and lawn

You can see that our backyard is mowed, trimmed and tidy which is not an ideal environment for attracting wildlife, yet creatures still visit our yard, some even making it their home.

Our bare extended surroundings also would appear to make an uninviting place for wildlife with no established trees or ground cover in either my neighbour's yard or the adjoining paddock, but yet small animals do still visit.

Create habitat and the wildlife will come

As well as providing a bird bath and a couple of bowls of water in secluded nooks, we have constructed a pond in an attempt to provide habitat for frogs.

My fern garden is small, but is home to skinks and many invertebrates

Common animals can be fascinating

Urban, suburban and rural backyards, along with town parks and reserves can be great places to observe nature up close.

Being able to make detailed and even long term observations of creatures and their lives is a distinct advantage of wildlife watching in your backyard. Although many of the animals and invertebrates that I will be featuring here are common creatures, they are all interesting in their own way, and I will be attempting to highlight hidden aspects of their lives.

As my yard becomes more established, the wildlife watching opportunities will increase.