Strange Australian Back Garden Beastie Sounds

Since moving to Australia I have seen plenty of trespassers, intruders and various Australian bad things enter into my home and walk in my garden. Quite a large number of Brisbane’s wild creatures, creepie crawlies and ugly bugs have crossed my path.

Going from memory, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few things, I have counted 22 different species that have made an effort to share my home.

Then, on top of that, there are many creatures that I haven’t noticed or couldn’t see. Take last night for example. There were some very strange sounds coming out of my garden, there always are. Last night I taped this sound with my little hand-held voice recorder. So please excuse the quality.

Just so we are clear, this really did happen last night and it was in my garden and my garden really is that dark. And that really is the moon. Anyway, I am always hearing strange sounds at night.

Before I heard that sound, I had become aware of what sounded like one creature dragging another “something” through the leaves and bushes. So I went to my window to take a look. It was way too dark, but the dragging sound continued, I could hear it clearly. I decided to go out and investigate….

…..No I didn’t! Whatdaya think? I’m nuts! No, well maybe yes. No, I turned on the outside lights to see if I could catch a glimpse of my latest visitor.

Nothing.

But exactly as the lights went on, the dragging sound stopped immediately. Nothing moved. Even though I was behind a window, I had the feeling I was being watched. I turned the lights back off.

Nothing………………. nothing………………. still nothing……….………aaah there it goes again, dragging.

I decided to let “it” carry on. Nature can take care of itself.

If anyone recognises the sound, I’d love to hear from you. For all I know it could have been a frog, and completely unrelated to the dragging noise. Or it could have been a really bad thing. But what do I know? We went on a children’s nature trail last year, we had 20 different species to spot. I scored 5! I had to cheat so my little girl didn’t get shown up.

As for my 22 intruders, I will cover them all. I’ll put them all in Australia’s bad things, but not all of them are bad. Many intruders are just a wonderful part of the variety of wildlife here in the Brisbane Region. As one of the richest natural environments in all of Australia, it’s estimated that over 1,000 different species of wild creatures have made this place their home.

Not all of them have popped round my place yet and I certainly hope some of them give it a miss. Of the ones that have come here, I will start with the cutest and friendliest and build up to the nastiest, beastliest, baddliest Australian bad thing that has passed by my door, or through it.

I won’t be ignoring those that I haven’t seen yet, if they’re around here and I hear about them, so will you.

All is revealed

 
Update April 2009:

For the answer, please visit my post Strange Australian Back Garden Beastie Sound Explained.

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{ 16 comments… add one }
  • Damir January 18, 2019, 1:12 am |

    Im hearing this right now, I am scared I live in Broadmeadow I don’t know what to do it’s 2:11am I’ve heard it for 30 minutes now, in too scared to look

    • BobinOz January 21, 2019, 8:01 pm |

      Well, I hope you survived the night 🙂 I also hope you saw the link at the very bottom of the above article which tells you exactly what this noise is, and why it’s nothing to be afraid of.

  • Debbie Heddle November 20, 2017, 4:50 pm |

    Just read your article. I live in Tasmania . Plenty of creepy crawlies here, in the country, where I lived while I was married. I’m not real good with these critters, as I come from the city. Back there now, but still scared of a snake or two. At first, we lived in a little cottage, owned by a local sheep farmer. So that put me kind of in the middle of nowhere. One night…a night to end all nights. Hubby late home…again! Next minute, a blood curling scream from beneath the house. Been watching too many horror movies in the past, I guess, but that was ridiculous! I thought, as I trembled in fear lol, that all those imaginary creepy things had finally come to get me!!

    Same again the next night. I bashed on the floor with the broom, and the hellish screams stopped, just as hubby walked in…late again. He was startled to see broom in hand, thinking I might wrap it around his ears for being late, which I should’ve done. It dawned on me that it was only one of our wee little iconic Tazzy Devils, who would rip a finger off if you put it too front of it.

    Then, we moved, kinda up the road. First, a blue tongue lizard came calling at the door. Rang neighbor to get it out. Then, having a combustion stove, I neede some wood. Only a few pieces left, so went out and picked a piece. I noticed, I’d stepped over something, and was precariously balancing across it. By the way it looked, with waves curles, cruising slowly, it finally hit me! I pirouetted in a way that Dame Margot would’ve been proud, yelling, at the top of my voice……SNAKE!!!!!! Hubby dashed down road to borrow gun off neighbor , but that sly ol tigger, ( tiger snake), all six foot of him, had vanished under some roofing iron hubby had nearby. Living in the country was ok, I guess, but when it comes to almost treading on snakes, that really takes the cake!,

    • BobinOz November 20, 2017, 9:03 pm |

      Well, it beats actually treading on snakes. They don’t like that, and when it happens, they can give you a bit of a bite.

      Sounds like you had lots of fun living in the countryside in Tasmania, but I suspect you are much more comfortable back in the city. Hopefully the screaming from underneath the floorboards has now come to an end. Thanks for sharing your story, as you say, plenty of wildlife in Tasmania. Okay if you like wildlife, otherwise it’s not so much fun.

  • rob richardson September 26, 2016, 2:57 pm |

    people are pests, not possums. I live in Brisbane and I have possums, willy wagtails, bush stone curlews, huntsmen spiders, blue tongue lizards, a big black crow, a magpie that sits on the end of a bed, kookaburras and even a pigeon that is content to fly in and sit on my knee to be fed. Marvelous, and no pest human neighbors

    • BobinOz October 2, 2016, 5:44 pm |

      All wildlife are welcome in my back garden as well, but I do also let in humans, some of them aren’t too pesty 🙂

  • Avenel Grace June 19, 2015, 11:12 pm |

    I currently have a colony of at least 8 or 10 possums living in my roof, walls, and under the floor.
    They fight day and night, particularly in the breeding season, and we have had to remove several dead possums form our ceiling over time.
    They might look sweet and innocent, but for the life of me I can’t understand why these pests and destructive animals are protected. I am a pensioner, and have been quoted over $200.00 per week for the council or the Wild Life and Fisheries depts. to even bother to come and try to do something.
    They have damaged wiring, and air conditioning ducts in the ceiling, for which I have had to pay to have repaired, and I often seriously think of placing poison to get rid of them. They are not the cute little cuddly creatures these greenie people think they are, and I am fed up with them scuffling and fighting half the night.

    • BobinOz June 23, 2015, 12:09 am |

      No you don’t, you have a passel of possums, I just Googled it. Collective nouns can be very tricky 🙂

      Seriously though, I do feel for you, when you have so many of them living in and around your property they really aren’t that cute. They are a problem. You really need to find out how they are getting into your property and then block it all off. Once that’s done, have them relocated and hopefully that will be problem solved.

      Not easy, I know, but they are protected and if you poison them to get rid of them, when they are gone other possums will show up and come into the entrances you haven’t fixed and you will still have a possum problem.

      Good luck, Bob

  • mel April 2, 2014, 3:33 pm |

    i have heard some very disturbing noises in my garden at night, some horrid chewing noise, scares the living daylights of me!

    • BobinOz April 3, 2014, 12:28 am |

      Have you had a look around your property during the day, to see if there are any signs of bones or a carcass? Just wondering 🙂

  • jason December 24, 2012, 8:40 am |

    Mate. Just moved to the Gold Coast from the UK and experienced the same noise in my garden last night. All I can say is it sounded like a alien invasion/slasher movie! Lol

    • BobinOz December 24, 2012, 3:12 pm |

      Welcome to Australia’s wildlife Jason, you will meet more, just give it time 🙂

  • BobinOz April 15, 2009, 7:25 pm |

    @Christine
    Hi Christine

    Thanks for that, it’s always good to know who I’m sharing my house with. Your timing is impeccable, if you check out todays post, you’ll see why. And now that you mention it, I have heard “catfight” type noises from out there before aswell. Obviously some possums don’t take much notice of the warning.

    Cheers

    Bob

  • Christine April 15, 2009, 10:34 am |

    Oh and btw its not the sound of dragging its the possums growl 🙂

  • Christine April 15, 2009, 10:30 am |

    That sound is coming from a brush tail possum. They make that noise when there is another possum around, its a warning sound made to another possum invading his territory. Sometimes they fight and the sound get worse.

  • Phil March 3, 2009, 9:02 pm |

    Bob, I agree with your comment about the ‘bad’ stuff “Many intruders are just a wonderful part of the variety of wildlife here”. It must make life very interesting, gives the day an ‘edge’. I do envy you mate, keep it up.
    Phil

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