How to support wildlife through winter in your Australian garden
Most of what happens to wildlife in an Australian garden in winter is unnoticed. Reptiles are sheltering under rocks and logs, native bees are sealed inside nests as pupae, frogs are tucked into moist crevices and the invertebrates are waiting out the cold in leaf litter, hollow stems and loose bark.
Blue banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) — one of Australia's most recognisable native bees and a common visitor to suburban gardens. Most solitary native bees overwinter as pupae sealed inside nest cells.
But what we do as gardeners in winter has a direct effect on how much of this life survives to spring. Garden tidying can destroy dozens of overwintering insect nests, displace a sheltering lizard, collapse a frog refuge and eliminate the invertebrate layer that the whole food web depends on.
This guide covers the non-bird wildlife that shares Australian gardens in winter, what each group needs and the practical steps that make the difference. For supporting birds through winter, this companion guide covers that group in detail.
Australian Native Seed Bombs
Scatter native seed directly into unimproved ground — no digging, no amendment required.
Small mammals
The small mammals most likely to use suburban Australian gardens are common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps). Their presence in a garden is inferred from droppings, scratch marks on bark and the occasional half-eaten flower or leaf.
Dense native canopy planting provides the connected cover small mammals need to move through suburban gardens safely — particularly important in winter when foliage thins and corridors become more exposed.
Small mammals are active year-round but their energy requirements increase in cold weather and their dependence on den sites like tree hollows, dense canopy cover and connected movement corridors becomes more acute. Native plants that produce berries and fruit through winter provide a critical supplementary food source for ringtail and brushtail possums as well as birds.
Hollow logs and den boxes
Tree hollows take decades to form naturally and are in short supply in most suburban gardens. A hollow log section left on the ground or mounted in a tree provides an immediate shelter option for possums, gliders and the small insectivorous antechinus. Purpose-built nest boxes fitted to established trees are used by brushtail and ringtail possums and by sugar gliders where they occur, and can meaningfully increase the small mammal capacity of a garden that lacks mature hollowed trees.
Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) — a familiar garden visitor across much of Australia. Brushtails depend on tree hollows or nest boxes for shelter and their need for secure den sites increases in cold weather.
Winter is a good time to install nest boxes — the breeding season for most species begins in late winter or spring and a box installed in June or July gives animals time to investigate and claim it before nesting begins.
Connectivity and cover
Small mammals navigate gardens through connected cover including dense shrubs, climbing plants on fences and the canopy of adjacent trees. A gap in cover of more than a few metres can be a barrier to movement for a ringtail possum moving between food sources.
White correa (Correa alba) — dense, twiggy native shrubs like this provide the connected cover and shelter that small mammals and birds rely on to move safely through suburban gardens in winter.
Native climbers on fences and dense screening shrubs along boundaries serve as movement corridors as well as privacy planting. In winter, when foliage is thinner, these corridors are more critical than in summer.
Australia's wildlife is under pressure
Australia has one of the highest rates of mammal extinction in the world and continuing habitat loss is the primary driver. Urban and suburban gardens collectively cover a significant area and their cumulative habitat value is genuinely meaningful. A single garden that retains leaf litter, maintains a log pile and keeps a water source clean contributes to a network of habitat patches that species can move between. For more on the broader picture, the wildlife and native gardens guide covers this in detail.
Reptiles
Blue-tongue lizards (Tiliqua species), garden skinks (Lampropholis species) and eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) in warmer zones do not truly hibernate in winter. Instead, they enter a state of reduced activity called brumation, in which their metabolism slows significantly and they shelter in a single location for weeks or months at a time.
Blue-tongue lizard (Tiliqua sp.) — one of the most common reptile visitors to Australian gardens. In winter they enter brumation and may remain in a single shelter site for weeks at a time.
During brumation, a reptile may barely move. It is managing the cold by using as little energy as possible.
How to spot a lizard in brumation
A brumating lizard found under a log or rock will be cool, slow and unresponsive but not limp. The body will be firm and the eyes clear. It may move slightly if touched but will not flee quickly. This is normal behaviour.
Jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus) on a timber log — typical basking habitat for garden reptiles. On warm winter days, lizards in brumation may emerge briefly to absorb heat before returning to shelter.
What helps reptiles in winter
Leave existing log piles and rock stacks in place in your garden from late autumn through to September. If you do not have one, add a pile of three to five large rocks or logs on a north-facing slope in a sheltered position and it will be colonised within one to two seasons.
Cunningham's skink (Egernia cunninghami) basking on a rock in winter sun. Rock stacks in north-facing positions absorb solar heat during the day and release it slowly overnight, creating a warmer microclimate that reptiles actively seek out.
A shallow, stable rock stack in full winter sun with ground cover planting around it — dense native groundcovers are ideal — is close to optimal reptile habitat for a suburban garden. For general winter garden tasks in your climate zone, the winter tasks guide and the frost protection guide cover the broader season in detail.
Brumation vs hibernationTrue hibernation, as seen in bears and hedgehogs, involves a sustained drop in body temperature and heart rate that persists for months. Brumation in Australian reptiles is more flexible — a blue-tongue lizard may emerge on a warm winter day to bask briefly, then return to shelter. This means reptile shelters need to be accessible to the surface, not buried. A log or rock that can be entered and exited from the north-facing side in weak winter sun is ideal.
Native bees
Australia has approximately 2,000 native bee species, the vast majority of which are solitary. Unlike honeybees, they do not form colonies or produce honey and they overwinter as pupae sealed inside individual nest cells. In winter, it is important to protect the structures they are developing inside.
Teddy bear bee (Amegilla bombiformis) — a ground-nesting solitary bee widespread across eastern Australia. Females overwinter as pupae in sealed burrows in dry, bare soil.
aussiegall from sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ground-nesting bees
Around 70 percent of Australia's native bee species nest in the ground. Each female excavates a small burrow, provisions it with a ball of pollen and nectar and lays a single egg, which will develop through winter as a pupa and emerge as an adult. These nests are typically found in bare or sparse soil such as sunny banks, dry path edges and compacted edges of garden beds.
How to spot a ground burrow
The burrow is a small circular hole, typically 3–8mm in diameter — roughly the width of a pencil. The entrance is usually clean and neat. There is often a small collar of excavated soil around the opening. Some species leave a turret of soil around the entrance; others leave almost no surface disturbance at all.
Dawson's burrowing bee (Amegilla dawsoni) at a nest burrow entrance in arid Western Australia. The soil turret around the hole is characteristic of many ground-nesting species — look for small circular openings 3–8mm wide in dry, bare soil.
Cal Wood, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Many species nest in clusters, so if you find one burrow there are often dozens nearby in the same patch of soil. The species most commonly encountered in suburban Australian gardens are reed bees (Exoneura species), homalictus bees and various Lasioglossum species. They are all small, dark and easily mistaken for wasps or flies at a glance.
Homalictus bee (Lasioglossum sp.) — a small, dark ground-nesting bee commonly found in suburban Australian gardens. Easily mistaken for a small wasp or fly, these are among the most abundant native bees in eastern Australia.
Summerdrought, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A garden fork worked through a nesting area will destroy the pupae inside and mulch applied over a bare soil nesting patch prevents the adults from emerging in spring. Ground-nesting bee habitat is worth identifying and marking before winter garden work begins.
Stem-nesting bees
The remaining native bee species nest above ground in hollow plant stems, pre-existing holes in timber and the cavities left by wood-boring beetles. These nests are sealed at the entrance with a plug of mud, leaf material or resin and the pupae inside develop through winter in the same way as ground nesters.
A native leafcutter bee. Stem-nesting species like resin bees and masked bees overwinter as pupae in sealed hollow stems — the same stems gardeners most commonly cut back in winter.
The most common garden mistake for stem nesters is cutting back hollow-stemmed plants in winter. Pithy natives including some pea-flowered species, native daisies and lomandra can contain active bee nests in their dead stems. If pruning cannot wait, cut stems to at least 20cm above ground level and leave the cut sections in a dry, sheltered spot rather than composting them.
Masked bee (Hylaeus species) — a small, wasp-like native bee that nests in hollow stems and pre-existing cavities. Masked bees are one of the most common stem-nesting species in Australian gardens and easy to attract with a well-placed bee hotel.
linsepatron, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A simple bee hotel made from a bundle of hollow bamboo stems or drilled hardwood blocks mounted in the right position provides additional nesting habitat and is easy to add to any garden at any time of year. The key is placement: north-facing, dry, protected from rain and at least 50cm above ground.
A homemade bee hotel using bundled hollow stems — an effective and low-cost way to provide above-ground nesting habitat for stem-nesting native bees. Mount in a north-facing position at least 50cm above ground, protected from rain.
Invertebrates and the leaf litter layer
The leaf litter layer is the most productive wildlife habitat in most Australian gardens. It is home to beetles, lacewings, hoverflies, spiders, centipedes, slaters, earwigs and dozens of other invertebrate species that overwinter as adults, pupae or eggs in the decomposing material. The invertebrate population in a garden is the foundation everything else depends on including the butterflies that need specific host plants and sheltered overwintering conditions to complete their lifecycle.
Grey ringlet butterfly (Hypocysta pseudirius) camouflaged in leaf litter — a reminder that the leaf litter layer is active habitat, not dead material. Many invertebrates overwinter in exactly this kind of ground cover.
John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The case against winter tidying
Raking leaf litter off garden beds removes the overwintering habitat of hundreds of invertebrate individuals in a single session. When tidying your garden, redistribute leaf litter under shrubs rather than removing it entirely. This small change has large effects on what the garden can support. The no-dig wildlife garden guide covers the broader approach in detail.
What you should remove
What can safely be removed: diseased plant material, clearly exotic weeds and plant matter confirmed free of bee nests and reptile shelters. Exotic weeds in particular are worth removing in winter as they provide no overwintering habitat value.
Agapanthus — one of the most common exotic garden plants in Australia and a useful example of what can go in winter. It provides no overwintering habitat for native invertebrates and is considered an environmental weed in several states.
The 30 by 30 effect
Research into urban biodiversity consistently shows that gardens managed with even modest habitat features — log piles, leaf litter retention, unmown patches, water — support significantly higher invertebrate diversity than tidily managed gardens. A garden that leaves 30 percent of its area deliberately unmanaged through winter can maintain invertebrate populations that support predator species like reptiles, frogs and insect-eating birds through the year.
Frogs
Frogs are among the most responsive to garden management decisions. Australia has over 240 frog species, with diversity concentrated in the east, south-west and tropics. Many suburban gardens in temperate and subtropical zones support two to five species.
Eastern dwarf tree frog (Litoria fallax) — a small, widespread species found in gardens across eastern Australia. In warm temperate and subtropical zones, tree frogs like this one remain active through mild winter nights.
Winter behaviour varies significantly by species and climate zone. In cool temperate areas, many species go dormant from late April or May, sheltering in moist soil, under rocks and logs, in compost heaps and in the muddy margins of ponds.
Southern brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii) — one of the few Australian frogs that remains active through cool winter nights in warm temperate and subtropical gardens, often calling after rain.
In warm temperate and subtropical zones, species including the eastern banjo frog (Limnodynastes dumerilii) and the southern brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii) remain active through mild winter nights and may call after rain. In tropical gardens, there is no true winter dormancy and frogs are active year-round.
A garden pond with native marginal planting — the most effective single addition for attracting frogs to a garden. Moist, sheltered margins and undisturbed muddy bases are critical frog habitat through winter.
Water quality matters more in winter
Frogs breathe partly through their skin and are acutely sensitive to water chemistry. A garden pond or water feature that accumulates algae or is treated with any chemical becomes hostile to frogs regardless of how suitable the surrounding habitat is.
Maintain ponds by removing excess algae manually with a brush or rake rather than chemical treatment. Allow some leaf litter to accumulate at pond margins as it provides shelter and feeding habitat for tadpoles and emerging juveniles. Avoid disturbing the muddy pond base in winter, where dormant adults may be sheltering.
Shelter for dormant frogs
Dormant frogs need cool, moist, stable conditions like log piles with soil contact, the moist base of dense moisture-retaining plants, the edges of compost heaps and the loose soil under established ground covers.
A shallow water dish at ground level in a sheltered spot under dense planting provides a supplementary moisture source for frogs on dry winter nights.
Dense native planting around a water source creates the layered, sheltered conditions frogs need through winter — cool, moist and protected from drying wind and direct sun.
Tasks at a glance
| Group | What to do this winter |
|---|---|
| Small mammals | Install a nest box in June or July. Maintain connected cover and planting corridors along boundaries. Leave hollow logs in place on the ground or in trees. |
| Reptiles | Leave log piles and rock stacks undisturbed from late autumn through to September. Add a north-facing rock or log pile if you do not have one. Leave leaf litter around shelter sites. |
| Ground-nesting bees | Identify and mark bare soil nesting patches observed in spring. Leave them undisturbed. Avoid digging or applying thick mulch over nesting areas between May and September. |
| Stem-nesting bees | Leave hollow or pithy plant stems to at least 20cm above ground until late September. Install a north-facing bee hotel. Leave cut stem sections in a dry sheltered spot rather than composting them. |
| Invertebrates | Redistribute leaf litter under shrubs rather than removing it. Leave dead wood in place where possible. Remove exotic weeds — they provide no overwintering habitat value. |
| Frogs | Maintain clean pond water manually — no chemical treatments. Leave muddy pond margins and bases undisturbed. Provide a ground-level water dish near dense shelter planting. |
The reward in spring
A garden managed with winter wildlife in mind does not look dramatically different from any other garden — a few log piles, some leaf litter left under shrubs, a patch of bare soil near the path left unturned. The difference shows up in spring, and it shows up quickly.
A thriving native garden in spring — the direct result of what was left undisturbed through winter. Leaf litter, hollow stems and bare soil patches that survived the season intact become the launching point for the first bees, lizards and frogs of the year.
From late August, the first native bees begin to emerge from sealed burrows and hollow stems, often on the warmest days before the main flush of spring warmth. Blue-tongue lizards start appearing on sunny rocks and north-facing walls, rebuilding condition after months of dormancy. Frogs call from ponds and water dishes on the first warm, wet nights of September. The invertebrate layer that survived winter undisturbed becomes the food base for everything that follows.
A winter spent leaving things alone becomes a spring garden that is genuinely alive.
Scarlet robin (Petroica boodang) — one of the insect-eating birds that returns to gardens in spring to take advantage of the invertebrate populations that survived winter in the leaf litter. A garden that protects its invertebrate layer in winter supports birds like this one in spring.
For more on building a garden that functions as year-round wildlife habitat, on the flowering plants that support native bees through their active season, and on winter garden tasks by climate zone, the linked guides cover all three in detail.
keep reading
A Guide to Australian Native Gardening
How to plan, plant and care for a thriving native garden, whatever your experience level.
Read the guide →
.jpg){kind=link}
