The Illawarra is full of wonderfully wild calls: the iconic laugh of the kookaburra, the warble of Australian magpies and the screeching of territorial brushtail possums. But right now, the bush is alive with arguably the best show in nature: the amazing mimicry of the superb lyrebird. 

I love those days where you head out with one plan, only for the natural world to turn everything on its head. I’d had an incredible fungi wander a couple of weeks ago so I meticulously packed my camera with macro lens and flash and headed back up to Mt Keira Summit Park. The views across the Illawarra are second to none but I was planning to keep my focus solely on the ground. 

As soon as I stepped out of my car, I knew those plans were awash. Only a few metres from the carpark, the call of a very loud male lyrebird rang out. It’s not easy to approach quietly when the ground cover is dried leaves and sticks and twigs, but I crunched and crackled towards the song of the male singing at a female, his wings flicking out intermittently, while she dug at the leaf litter, snatching up worms without so much as a look in his direction.

The males don’t get their incredible tail feathers until they are three or four years old and, no offence to one of my favourite birds, without that magnificent tail, females and young males alike are kind of plain looking with a particularly beady eye. So to see this male with his elaborate lyre-shaped tail and hearing him as he mimicked butcherbirds, satin bowerbirds, currawongs, kookaburras and even a wonga pigeon gave me my first jaw-on-the-floor moment of the day.

But it was about to get even better.

Breeding occurs mainly in New South Wales from June to July, although the males will perform full courtship displays from around May to August. They prepare spaces in the bush, a platform if you will, in which to dance. They can have up to 20 of these mounds throughout their territory, scratched from dirt and leaf litter and ranging from one to two metres wide.  

And for the first time in my life, I came across a male on his platform (it was the first time ever spotting a mound, let alone seeing a lyrebird on it). He was running through his repertoire, his tail inverted over his head like a feathery veil, only occasionally lifting it slightly so I could see his face. 

This would have to be one of the most special wildlife encounters I have had, a window into the secret life of these magnificent birds. I headed off so as not to discourage any females lured in by his siren song.

If you’d love to hear their incredible mimicry, here are my two favourite spots:

• Minnamurra Rainforest is home to dozens of bird species, swamp wallabies and water dragons but the drawcard is, of course, the lyrebird. They are prolific here and you can often spot them digging around the edges of the car park.
• Mt Keira Summit Park is the perfect place for a picnic or barbecue with a side of incredible nature thrown in. Walk along one of the trails just off the car park and during breeding season it’s likely you’ll hear the male’s song ringing across the mountain. 

To watch my special encounter, head here. How many bird species can you hear?