Protecting native birds and wildlife

You can help protect native birds and wildlife with some simple actions at home.

Threats to native birds and wildlife include:

  • bread or food that they don’t normally eat
  • loss of habitat
  • pests like rabbits, foxes and the Indian Myna bird
  • stray domestic animals
  • waste and water pollution
  • cars and other vehicles
  • the effect of climate change on habitat and food supply

You can help protect native birds and wildlife from these threats by:

  • not feeding them bread or food that they don’t normally eat
  • planting native and indigenous plants to attract wildlife like birds or bees
  • having more trees with hollows for native animals to nest in
  • installing a nesting box
  • minimising garden chemicals and pesticides use
  • not letting your cat wander the streets
  • making sure your dog is only off-leash in specified ‘off-leash’ parks and reserves.

Indian Myna bird

The Common Myna or Indian Myna is an introduced pest and its population is growing fast. You can identify a by its yellow beak and eye patch and brown body.

These two organisations run control programs in Darebin:

You can help with the Myna bird problem by:

  • not leaving food scraps, pet food or bones outside
  • covering rubbish bins and other potential food sources
  • not feeding feed birds in your backyard
  • blocking potential nest sites, such as holes in roofs or gutters
  • removing any Myna nests you find in nest boxes or tree hollows
  • using self-closing doors and flyscreens
  • starting a personal or community trapping and disposal program

More resources