How an Australian woman who moved to the country to escape Melbourne’s lockdown shot to fame after posting a simple video of three kookaburras sitting on a balcony
- Australian who moved to regional Victoria from the city shot to fame on TikTok
- Katrina Smith decided to start sharing video of the birds who visit her balcony
- Ms Smith’s content ranges from galahs to sulfur-crested cockatoos and magpies
- First video of four kookaburras on the ledge received 500,000 views overnight
An Australian bird-lover has shot to social media stardom after a simple video she shared of three friendly kookaburras on her balcony went viral.
Katrina Smith moved to Victoria’s Surf Coast to escape Melbourne when she was allowed to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Realising the variety of wildlife on her doorstep, Ms Smith shared a heartwarming video of the visit from a family of kookaburras on TikTok in August.
When she woke up the next morning, she discovered the video had racked up more than 500,000 views – spurring her to share almost daily updates of the visits from her feathered friends.
Katrina Smith has shot to social media stardom on TikTok by sharing footage of birds on her balcony
Ms Smith shares footage of a wide range of birds which turn up on her balcony. Pictured right is a king parrot, and left is a kookaburra with a flower on its head
Viewers on her page Birds of Oz are entertained by a wide variety of unique Australian birds – including king parrots, galahs, and sulfur-crested cockatoos.
‘I settled into a place next to a forest and the birds started showing up and visiting each day,’ she told BBC News.
‘I put this video of four kookaburras sitting on the ledge on TikTok. I woke up in the morning and it had had half a million views… I thought “OK I’m onto something”.’
She said her favourite visitors were the galahs, which are known for their pink and grey appearance and mohawk-style feathers on their head.
Ms Smith added she also had a soft spot for magpies because of their easily recognisable cries.
‘It made me realise how lucky we are to live in Australia and experience this,’ she said.
Ms Smith said seeing the wide variety of birds that land on her balcony made her realise ‘how lucky we are to live in Australia’
Ms Smith shared a heartwarming video of a family of kookaburras perched on her balcony on TikTok in August which racked up more than 500,000 views
She said her connection with the birds who land on her balcony every day made her reconsider moving back to the city.
Birds of Oz now has more than 675,000 followers and one recent video of her holding a flower up to a kookaburra received nearly a million views.
‘The response has been full of joy and it has been so overwhelming for me personally,’ Ms Smith said.
‘It made me realise how lucky we are to live in Australia and experience this.’
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