In Brisbane’s suburban backyards, there is one dominant, and rather territorial, creature: the dive-bombing, aggressive noisy miner.
Sometimes referred to as one of Australia’s “most hated birds” the noisy miner has topped the list of the most common bird in Brisbane in the latest BirdLife Australia count.
Battle of the bird bully: The native noisy miner bird.Credit: Getty
Dr Golo Maurer from Birdlife Australia says this is a concern, even though noisy miners are a native honeyeater species.
“This large aggressive honeyeater will drive smaller species away from flowers and other food sources. With native predatory species grey butcherbird, pied currawong and laughing kookaburra also in the top 10 you can see that life would be tough for smaller birds in Brisbane,” he says.
Top 10 birds seen in Brisbane
- Noisy Miner
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Torresian Crow
- Australian Magpie
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
- Australian White Ibis
- Grey Butcherbird
- Welcome Swallow
- Pied Currawong
- Laughing Kookaburra
“A good news signal to be watched is that the small brown honeyeater has been reported more frequently in 2024, moving within the top 30 species.
“Brisbanites can actually help to tip the balance. Small birds generally do better where there are more scrubs and understory, so planting these in your garden, or working with the council to create bushy areas instead of lawn in local parks can help these species.”
The annual backyard bird count is a citizen science project that delivers a snapshot of how our native feathered creatures are faring.
