One of the things about living in a country town and on a largish block of land with fruit trees (yes, fruit trees – lemon, orange, mandarin, apple, plum, and a grape vine are those I’ve discovered so far), is that birds come and visit regularly… and they chatter all day long! I’m not a bird person, but so far I’ve been able to identify these: Western Magpies, kookaburras, blue wrens, Western Rosellas, Australian Ringneck parrots (known as twenty-eights), New Holland Honeyeaters, Bronzewing Pigeons, and lots of other little flitty birds that I don’t know. We’ve also heard black cockatoos in the distance, but haven’t seen any yet. There’s a nice page of many of the birds we have in the garden here: http://www.waratahsoftware.com.au/wp_birds_birds.html
The other thing is the stars! Wandering out into the dark at 5am to collect the paper from the verge is an awesome experience – the Milky Way is just so bright against the black of the night, and some of the stars seem close enough to touch. I’d forgotten how bright stars can be – all those years of living in the glow of the city lights takes that away and you can only really see the very bright ones. Here, you can see them all. And they are an awe-inspiring sight.
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
Sounds heavenly. How are you going to get any work done? š
I remember trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas once. You couldn’t identify any stars – there were too many. The black sky was simply studded with tiny white lights. Amazing. Congratulations on finding such a lovely spot.
From a city girl.
Well fortunately I work during the day mostly – and inside. Which means my bird watching activity is only when I’m in the kitchen, dining room or living room. In the office, I have my back facing the backyard where the fruit trees are. And the star gazing is only in the very early morning or at night when I’m outside and not working! š