Flora and Fauna in Perth city

Have you seen any native animals in the city? Some of our members have.

• I saw five owls, I think Boobook Owls, roosting in the pine tree on the corner of Field and Royal Streets in East Perth. It was the middle of the day (David).
• In winter, the paddock between Trinity College and the causeway sometimes is flooded after rain and the black swans gather there. Two years ago I saw over a hundred swans gathered there on the grass.
• There is a pair of Osprey that hunt along the river. I've seen them go past Point Fraser. I think they come from upriver. (Jacqui)
• Pelicans sit on the light poles along the freeway (Colin).
• I was lunching at the museum cafe, in the outdoor courtyard, and I looked up and there was an owl in the tree above me (Julie)
• I was walking along the river early in the morning and I'm sure I saw a native water rat. They have a white tip at the end of the tail. If we could just plant some more sedges and trees along here, I'm sure they would like it (Tim)
• When I cycle home at night along Mounts Bay Road I look for Nankeen Night Heron fishing from the river's edge. In the breeding season the males have a long white feather at the back of the neck that blows around in the breeze (Dudley).
•  In Claisebrook channel there are bronze sculptures of turtles. Once there was a group of people looking at the sculpture, then I realised there was a real turtle lying on top of one of the sculptures (Chris).
• We often see dolphins in the river near Point Fraser (Jacqui).

Others have seen feral animals

• I've seen foxes on Mounts Bay Road, late at night and once I saw one near the cathedral, early on a Sunday morning (Jane).
• The 28 parrots used to nest in the palm trees in Queens gardens but these days you are more likely to see Rainbow Lorikeets (David).
• Some ducklings had been killed at Point Fraser and someone said they could smell that foxes had been there (Rada).

Have you seen native or feral animals in Perth city?

Please contact us and tell us your stories.

Display cabinets in the Western Australian Museum give an idea of the animals which used to be common in Perth (below).

A chuditch (western native cat) eyes a quokka.

A darter dries its wings at the centre of a display of birds typical of wetlands. Many of the birds in this display in the bird gallery can be seen at sites around the city such as at Point Fraser.

A pelican enjoys the view from the top of a light.

Dolphins in the river between Point Fraser and Heirisson Island.

A darter Anhinga melanogaster dries its wings in the sun. The darter has a long smooth neck which it moves like a snake.

Black swans used to be common on Perth water.

A possum hopes to escape the attention of a feral cat on the prowl. Display cabinet in the Mammal Gallery. Western Australian Museum, Francis St, Perth.

In the mammal gallery a display cabinet at the WA Museum, includes a quokka, chuditch, quenda (bandicoot), a water rat, possums and a brush-tail phascogale. Ominously the display cabinet also includes a feral cat which was recognised as a key predator leading to the disappearance of some of these animals when this display was created.

See these animals in their natural habitat at Karakamia Sanctuary near Chidlow.