Birds of Brisbane City Botanics

Birds are the most obvious form of wildlife in Brisbane. Brisbane has public parklands in most suburbs of the South-East Queensland city.

The original botanic gardens were officially opened in 1855 and are open 24 hours a day with free admission to all. Brisbane City Botanic Gardens is one place that can consistently offer a visitor the chance for spotting native birds of Australia.

Location of the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

The public gardens are located next to the Central Business District (CBD) of Brisbane, close to Eagle Street Pier and over the green Goodwill Bridge from South Bank Parklands in Brisbane. Two CityCat stops – Riverside and QUT Gardens – encourage access to the botanic gardens’ Central Path from the riverside walking-cycling path and from the Parliament Square entrances. From the CBD, Alice Street near Albert and Edward Street is the nearest entrance.

Casual Birdwatching in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

From the wide Central Path cutting through the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, several walking loops around the native trees invite children and adults to watch the birds feed and sing.

Positioning of park benches are promising for birdwatching and photography. The birds of urban Brisbane appear to be oblivious to the high footfall through the Botanic Gardens between 12noon and 3pm, offering access to the casual birdwatcher and companions.

The Dusky Moorhen on Water

The Dusky Moorhen, Gallinula tenebrosa, can be seen at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens swimming on ponds and on the drought-burnt grass. In ‘Wildlife of Greater Brisbane’ (Queensland Museum, 2007) Dusky Moorhen identification is described as ‚”Length 40cm. Plump waterbird with long legs. Body dark brown above; grey below; narrow scarlet beak has a yellow tip; scarlet shield over forehead. Red legs, snow-white under tail”.

The Rainbow Lorikeet Feeding High in the Trees

The smaller Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus, at around 30cms, with green, coral red, corn yellow bodies, red beaks and bright/light blue low/highlighted heads perform sparkling displays when feeding. Favoring very tall trees, the Rainbow Lorikeet can be noticed from backyard gardens, supervised parklands and rainforest by what has been described in ‘Wildlife of Greater Brisbane’ (Queensland Museum, 2007) as ‚”Raucous screeching and chattering also wheezing noises when feeding”.

The Pigeon on the Ground

Visitors to the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens who hear cooing noises on The Wedding Lawn will shortly see pairs or trios of Feral Pigeon come into view. Also known as Homing Pigeon or Rock Dove, Columba livia, this introduced bird can be seen in many locations across Brisbane including the CBD, the City Botanic Gardens, Riverside and the suburbs.

Visitors to Queensland will remember the first time they were seduced by the colors of a Rainbow Lorikeet. Birds – like Rainbow Lorikeets – feeding on tree blossoms in public botanic gardens and parkland and backyards in Brisbane will capture the interest of anyone with a camera and the casual birdwatcher.