Wildlife
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah is surrounded by World Heritage-listed national parks. The Garden itself provides year-round habitats and food sources for animals and birds. The diversity of local fauna includes over 100 species of birds, marsupials, lizards and many colourful insects.
There's wildlife on the ground, in the trees and in the air!
Animals
Mount Tomah provides habitat for an array of marsupials, reptiles and birds. If you are patient you may see brush-tailed and ring-tailed possums, sugar gliders and greater gliders, and rarely you may catch a glimpse of a diamond python or eastern tiger snake.
Birds
Look out for more than 150 native bird species including the satin bower bird, eastern whip bird, superb fairy wren, superb lyrebird, wonga pigeon, yellow-tailed black cockatoo and gang-gang cockatoo. Bird watchers, be sure to bring your binoculars.
The Garden provides a rich source of floral nectar all year round. Even in the middle of winter, large showy proteas provide honeyeaters a welcome treat.
Special birding moments
- Watch the resident satin bowerbirds collecting favourite flowers to adorn their courtship bowers.
- Listen to the calls of rosellas and black cockatoos as they delight in our fruiting trees.
- Lie back on the lush green lawns to watch magnificent eagles cruise overhead.
Please don't feed the birds
Many of us love feeding ducks and other birds. However, there are good reasons why we shouldn't. It upsets the delicate balance of nature and jeopardises the birds' welfare.
If you care for our birds, please don't feed them.
- Human food can kill birds. Snack food for us contains salt and sugar, and can be fatal to birds. Poor nutrition can lead to bone deformities, and reduces a bird's ability to cope with cold weather and disease.
- Handfeeding makes birds aggressive and they become a nuisance.
- Feeding makes birds lazy. Birds fed by humans become dependent on that food. They turn into scavengers instead of the unique wildlife we love to encounter.
