The birds on the balcony that found TikTok fame - BBC News

Katrina Smith was living a city lifestyle in Melbourne, Australia, when Covid hit. Fearing a lockdown, she packed up and rented a place on the Surf Coast of Victoria.
She started posting videos of the birds that showed up on her balcony. Those birds quickly found online fame, notching up millions of views on TikTok and Instagram.
Now she's left with the dilemma of whether or not to return to the city at all.
Video By Isabelle Rodd
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[@truevegas]

A big G'day from Australia to all our UK and overseas friends :)

[@SteveXNYC]

What going on?. You guys dopeing or hoping

[@truevegas]

@@SteveXNYC Say what? 😂 maybe both idk lol

[@truevegas]

@Mot Kaou Nice, but we have 2 minute noodles where I live bud. You should try them 😉

[@randorific333]

It's so nice to see a joyous, happy, feel good story amongst the not so happy news.

[@TotalGAMIX]

Agree

[@CEK51]

How fortunate you are. Those birds are the most beautiful I have ever seen! Lucky lady!!

[@bierrollerful]

Australia: countless awful things that _will_ kill you Also Australia: super friendly, cheerful birbs

[@jimimased1894]

Actually most deaths in oz are from European bees, true story

[@mehere8038]

@@jimimased1894 actually horses cause more deaths than bees, but yup, European honey bees cause more deaths than Aussie natives like snakes

[@dorothybutton9656]

Absolutely enchanting. You are so lucky to live in paradise.

[@cumoreview442]

I'm in centre of Sydney and all those species of birds and more visit my balcony, they come and say hello from the bushes on the sides of the street when I go for a walk, they come right up when you sit in the park. The things is, nobody feeds them, it's not about food, there is plenty of food on the trees even in the centre of our cities, they are just playful and curious. Different species hang out together, tease each other, clearly birds have a sense of humour. The thing about the centre of Sydney is that nobody has cats, so they have no preditors and they are just so confident.

[@karene.4196]

Unfortunately, this woman DOES feed the birds and encourages them to climb on her to get food. She's a fraud.

[@tc1817]

Nobody feeds them. hahahahhahahahahha Right. The birds just want to be friends.

[@seanbayley7452]

@@karene.4196 I didn't hear her say she doesn't feed them so what If she does and these birds come round without feeding them everywhere along the east coast of Australia

[@karene.4196]

@@seanbayley7452 This is such an old post ... she's already been reported to the relevant authorities in her district who were not impressed with her feeding them. So ... I don't know what to tell you, other than: she's habituated these birds to human interference, all for the clicks. Sorry to disappointed. Sincerely sorry. 😞

[@bestuish]

Sydney in your description sounds more lovely than heaven 😄

[@graphitepencil6522]

It reminds me of my birds who stayed with me for 3 months, during day time they took a flight with wild birds and came back home... This continued for 3 months... After that they just disappeared and never came back! 😐 I suspect they got killed or they have gone with their wild friends. That's my childhood memories

[@b.visconti1765]

A Big Happy Smile From Southern California for finally finding your birds..what a Pleasure!🎈

[@sophiakh9590]

I love this so much!

[@CatsInHats-S.CrouchingTiger]

She’s got friends! 💞

[@bhupinderkaur3970]

So beautiful

[@ronkirk5099]

The birds of Australia are amazing. Back in the day, when I visited for a six month bicycle tour I'll never forget the sound of the Kookaburra's call in the morning when I woke up in my tent while primitive camped in the bush. The huge flocks of pink and grey Galah's were also memorable. Pretty amazing country, but sadly, they are right on the front lines of global warming (as they were for ozone depletion).

[@anthonyobrien6832]

What

[@Glenn-ei3xp]

Absolute garbage

[@KaiXingSophia]

They’re all beautiful birds

[@CatsInHats-S.CrouchingTiger]

Beautiful birds! 😍🥰 they really like her!

[@AnnesreborndollsandfunW]

Love her ! Love the birds !

[@sharmilacorea8627]

Thank you! Amazing!

[@cecelialee2179]

Simply beautiful 😍😍

[@miiache6563]

Beautiful

[@Meghnaaad]

This world is so beautiful.

[@lazymusician10]

There such beautiful and cute birds. 🥰😭😊

[@thepolishastronaut7940]

If I was offered Australian citizenship I would take it. It seems like such a cool place to live

[@george4vIogging]

What about all the dangerous animals?

[@thepolishastronaut7940]

@@george4vIogging They mostly live in the arid wasteland in the middle of Australia, but either way I feel that punching spiders the size of a school bus daily is a worthy price to pay

[@aishakassiasalihu9072]

They have spiders in Australia that eat snakes.

[@george4vIogging]

@@aishakassiasalihu9072 Spiders that eat snakes? Are you serious bro?

[@mehere8038]

@@aishakassiasalihu9072 we have some VERY little snakes you know lol Seriously, our spiders are great on cockroaches (we get huge ones of them) & apart from that & other garden pests, they really don't bother anything :) We haven't had a spider death here since 1984

[@marsanthini9]

Same me I alway crazy to birds they are so wonderful creatures

[@eaglewings-tn2rw]

So beautiful❤❤❤

[@AnnaLissasFamilyVlogs]

I love them all so cute birds.❤

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

Beautiful. I have a big crow who loudly demands his two apple cores every morning. After he gets them he's very friendly.

[@ravishingriz548]

All birds in this video are beautiful, including you. 😘

[@lynbeck2359]

Awesome birds walk 🐦

[@philippinesunfiltered421]

❤️❤️❤️

[@t.n.9736]

Wow！This is my dream!!

[@niko-ni6ps]

Its a good thing you keep the mood up after all this non stop India CoVid news was so sad

[@rozeenajamil]

I need to live in a place with a bunch of birds, I love watching birds

[@mathipadmadi]

Lovely! Amazing! Unbelievable!

[@destinynguyen3721]

Amazing

[@Greenpoloboy3]

aww thanks!

[@duallove6909]

Am I the only one who had a trouble listening?. The sound seemed muffled, not clear. Couldn’t get half of what she was saying.

[@delsi1204]

Yes the music was to loud 😪

[@Greenpoloboy3]

I saw a pigeon yesterday :)

[@Greenpoloboy3]

@BITCOIN INVESMENTUK no

[@TatianaBerkoh]

Nice❣

[@bunyoeun8868]

I want to raise this bird because it is so cute

[@chaithanyarr1225]

i cant believe.only one bird came to my balcony and build nest was red vented bulbul.lots of birds on ur balcony.

[@karene.4196]

But you can at least feel good that you didn't habituate them to humans like this girl does ... check out her Instagram. She trains them with food.

[@alaskatheakita7217]

The bird is the word

[@hebneh]

I’m amazed that so many Australian birds like these will become so tame. She can put flowers on them and they just sit there!

[@janicekarpas6747]

great video

[@thomasfholland]

Hi BBC! Thanks for providing the link to her channel! 🙄

[@cijicamp]

she now has a youtube , "birds of oz" , if anyone wants to see more :)

[@noorsihan3194]

😍😍😍😍😍 Lovely...

[@double1363]

You gonna talk bout the huge fire in Portsmouth or no?

[@lopuyh]

Nice species.

[@donaf6206]

😍

[@elizabeth8895]

Awwwwwww cho chweet

[@RS54321]

Why did she get rid of all her YT videos? ☹

[@galleryteneuesartnouveau9353]

Adorable Kookaburras & the rest of the gangs luv those brilliant Corvid magpies best nature cures for Covid19 😘👍👌

[@nathanleigh3486]

Seems like God has put you exactly where you are supposed to be right now. Roll with it love.

[@diogeneslantern18]

This is the sort of stuff the Dodo posts. This is not news.

[@Liuhuayue]

Finally, some Australian animals that don't want to kill you.

[@mark-ish]

That still might happen. Maybe Katrina only approaches after they're fed.

[@mehere8038]

Should see my fingers right now courtesy of my lorikeets lol Reality is the birds are FAR more likely to bite than any other Aussie animal is!

[@dsanders401]

Those birds look like they r performing for the camera and will some point want their cut of the profits.

[@mehere8038]

they do - but they're lazy, they expect us to convert it into food for them & then pay them in seed :)

[@HilarityBribo]

Tiktok is the sewer of the internet.

[@bunnylady6758]

She should wear a princess gown and start singing or something😁

[@hiroshimootspsychology2323]

Medical,radiation, emergency lifesaving, nursing care, welfare, education,school lunch making,truck driving, wholesale / retail, self-restraint, funerals, police firefighting traffic, water, electricity,gas Thank you to those involved in finance. #ThankYou #spreadthanks

[@jeyaramsathees6128]

Finance sector is the driving force of inequality

[@exortus359]

Even australia wild birds are tiktokers now 🤣🤣

[@balham5606]

Nice news story

[@morpheos111]

How are these birds so chill? Are they not wild?

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

Birds are very smart.

[@mehere8038]

They're Aussies :) Ever heard the Aussie saying "she'll be right mate" or "no worries"? That's how the birds & all the other Aussie animals feel about life too :) They tend to be cautious the first time they visit a new person, but as soon as one of them has done so & found it's safe, they spread the word & all the species in the area come in :) The ones to win over are the noisy miners, they send out alarm calls to all the other birds. Get them happy & all the rest will follow without fear

[@auro1986]

bbc replacing tiktok?

[@RobertSmith-pt7gl]

All's good until the ebris turns up and won't leave or the Indian miners.

[@epiccool6242]

Are this pets or this fly every time to her balcony 😁?

[@CatsInHats-S.CrouchingTiger]

They fly to visit her!

[@kismetau]

She lives next to a forest with many birds and she feeds them seeds but only a little so they don’t depend on her.

[@mehere8038]

They're wild birds, but in Australia the animals view the land as theirs & if humans move in, the animals all expect to continue living there & for the humans to share everything with them & make sure they're happy. If the humans don't oblige, they get angry & squawk until the humans wake up & give them what they demand to shut them up. That's just how it is in Australia :)

[@ewlchen]

This lady looks like Emelia Clarke

[@zollen123]

Let me guess, you must have a bird feed somewhere in your balcony. You have no cat or dog.

[@seanbayley7452]

These birds will show up without being fed we get all of these types and dint feed them and we are on the gold coast not to far from her

[@trinity00matrix00]

this is not news

[@Chemson1989]

Birbs on the balcony. Birbcony.

[@sreedevisuresh8147]

She is the luckiest girl in the world

[@alexsfamily4166]

she is not my girlfriend..

[@sreedevisuresh8147]

@@alexsfamily4166 😂😂

[@first8956]

How could the Brits leave such nice land to the "prisoners" back then? who're the "prisoners" exactly?

[@mehere8038]

yup, prettywell how the convicts felt lol It was noticed right from the start, kids born in Australia grew up taller & naturally stronger than those born in Britain & the claims about whipping etc in Australia were mostly just propaganda designed to hide the fact that convicts were happily just working to pay off their debt & get given their land in return. My ancestor was a farmhand with nothing in England, with no chance of ever rising above that, by the time he died in Australia, he had enough land for each of his 14 children to have their own large & very profitable farms. He had his own farm & 2 convicts assigned to help him work it (at no cost to him) within 6 months of arriving in Australia

[@ben31uk]

Defund the BBC Cancel them direct debits Save £160. Move to streaming services

[@rhydian7332]

Hi

[@fatehyabali]

😊

[@nyxxose]

1:25 “The most beautiful....” *TURKEY NOISES*

[@sharan96vj87]

😊😉

[@sutats]

The city's only good for partying. Real living is out in sticks.

[@afr8734]

Bird whisperer

[@lfeb]

Cute

[@prajodcp7145]

BBC??!!

[@steelchampion]

birb

[@balham5606]

What is her tiktok username ?

[@kismetau]

Birdsofoz

[@bernardfender5147]

Wholesome!🤗 Now waiting for the tin foil hat wearer's comments...

[@ben31uk]

Defund the BBC Cancel them direct debits Save £160

[@gabriellaszendi3103]

She looks like The Blonde Psaki

[@ilasilas3261]

I wish tiktok wasn't owned by China.

[@GandhiKesav]

தமிழ் மக்கா😍

[@user-vu4yt7di7d]

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[@marioparragutierrez3701]

Jajajaja LO LOGRAREMOS?..... FAMILIAAAAA CREEN USTEDES QUE SI LO LOGRAREMOS?...... JAJAJAJA XQUE YO SI LO CREO PLENAMENTE QUE EN ESTA EPOCA DONDE YA ESTAMOS INVOLUCRADAS 3 GENERACIONES..... VAMOS A LOGRAR CONVIVIR PACIFICAMENTE TODAS LAS ESPECIES DE SERES Y CRIATURAS VIVAS QUE HABITAMOS EN ESTE PLANETA JAJAJAJA.

[@user-vu4yt7di7d]

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[@tanouchelemanouche]

BBC PCC propagande inn't!

[@jordanhunt4867]

Birds on TikTok now?, oh please someone get Jamoriquai back in to do a 'virtual insanity' 2021 remix/edit/version because if he thought the internet was bad enough, then that was the tip of the iceberg for him, he should have waited 20 years on when Instagram and TikTok addicted the world, because this is real virtual insanity, the internet back in the turn of the millennium was nothing compared to what is literally the virtual insanity of the present day with social media taking over the world, SOCIAL MEDIA, INSTAGRAM, TIK TOK, 21ST CENTURY VIRTUAL INSANITY

[@seanbayley7452]

U sound actually insane nit virtually what's wrong with birds on tik tok compared to the absolute crap U see on it its goid

[@tyameow181]

😍