Spotted Quoll ©Dr Scott Burnett
Irvinebank's hillsides were once completely cleared to provide firewood for the smelter, furnaces, steam trains, and cooking fires of residents. Over the last seventy years the bush has regenerated and is teeming with birds and wildlife.
Between 1998 and 2000, local resident Tony Hathaway compiled a bird list of more than 90 species. Irvinebank is also the annual home of the Little Red Flying Fox. Kangaroos and wallabies graze within the town environs and the valley is filled with a cacaphony of birdsong. Quolls hunt at night, and possums and other nocturnal animals can be viewed within the town environs.
The lake in the middle of the village is home to wading and water birds and is a great place to picnic and enjoy nature right in the middle of town. One of the best viewing spots is the verandah of Loudoun House, where one can sit in comfort and observe many species of bird in the canopy of the fig trees at eye level.
