A recent study out of King's College London suggests that hearing birdsong regularly could help boost your mood. I’m a big believer that time in nature – any natural setting, for any amount of time – is fantastic for you, both emotionally and physically. I spent short spurts over the weekend, just wandering around breathing in the fresh air, feeling the sun on my back, and it was amazing. Then I began to think about the birds I know and love, and their songs. The strangled cat cries of the Green Catbird through to the mechanical whir of the Satin Bowerbird. Maybe they're not the exact calls that the researchers had in mind, but the Illawarra definitely has three birds whose song has to be heard to be believed.

The Green Catbird

Green catbirds are ridiculously beautiful birds. Their plumage is a bright, vibrant green, their chest speckled with white and the adults have a ruby red eye. But the call isn't quite as attractive. I’ve heard it described as sounding anything like a strangled cat to a crying (read: really crying) baby. They love the rainforest areas and I wake up to them here regularly. You can spot them around Mt Keira and Mt Kembla, as well as in the rainforest section of the Wollongong Botanic Garden.

Want to hear the call for yourself? Listen here.

Satin Bowerbird 

Ah, the relaxing sound of the Satin Bowerbird. Who doesn’t love the sharp hisses, squawks, whirs, clicks and buzzing of this bird? May not be sounds to drift off to – give me whale song for that job any day of the week – but there’s lots to love about these birds. If you ever stumble across one of their bowers (hint: there's loads in the Wollongong Botanic Garden), the calls really ramp up when one of the males is attempting to woo a female. He bows his head, wings slightly out from his body, a petal or a blue trinket in his bill, and he begins to 'dance', hopping around, clicking and whistling and whirring and rasping the entire time. It must work because there's always new bowerbirds around!

Listen here to the ah, dulcet tones of the bowerbird.

Tawny Frogmouth

You may not know it, but you may have a Tawny Frogmouth or two around your home. These nocturnal birds are famous for their tree-like camouflage and so are often not spotted during the day. And at night? Well, that's when we tend to cocoon ourselves away. But if you've ever heard the repetitive, yet unique 'oom-oom-oom' call during your dreams, sometimes described as a neighbour's alarm clock, you may just have one of these birds hidden away in one of your trees. See if you recognise their call here.