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Paradise for sma� birds

NECTARIVORESSome nectarivorous birds, such as the spinebills, have long, slender, curved beaks that can reach into the base of long, tubular flowers such as iochromas, penstemons, correas, kangaroo paws and the epacrids – including fuchsia heath (Epacris longiflora) – to find nectar that many species can’t get to. Others, such as the lively New Holland honeyeater, which doesn’t rest for long on each flower, also have a slim curved beak, but shorter – and therefore they’ll favour plants such as banksias, eremophilas, grevilleas and hakeas. While their beaks aren’t as long as those of the spinebills, they have a specialised tongue with feathery, brush-like ends that enable them to ‘lap up’ the nectar.

Lorikeets and some other nectar-feeding parrots also have this specialised tongue. However, because they have a typical parrot-shaped beak, they’ll favour more open flowers where nectar is presented in ‘cups’ of various sizes, as is the case with eucalyptus, tea-trees and lilly pillies. Lorikeets are specialised feeders and pollinators of these plants.

Wattlebirds are particularly partial to grevilleas, eremophilas and kangaroo paws.

It’s vital to provide plants that have a range of flower sizes and shapes to suit the various nectar-feeding groups. Often, the more open shrubs such as Grevillea ‘Moonlight’ have large flowers hanging on the outside of the plant. These types of shrubs are fabulous for habitat gardeners as the flowers are rich in nectar, making them a magnet for various insects and birds. But this is not a plant that the small honeyeaters will usually attend. It attracts larger honeyeaters, such as wattlebirds and noisy miners, who can move about in the open plant freely and will defend their food source quite aggressively. Smaller honeyeaters such as the silvereyes will instead frequent dense and/or thorny shrubs that flower on the inner stems and branches, as well as on the outer. As nectar-feeding insects also flock to these plants, the little insectivorous birds such as fantails, pardalotes and wrens will visit and possibly even nest here.

To work out which plants will be more open and which will be more dense, when you’re at a nursery look at the size of the leaves and the internodes (the spaces in between the leaves). If the leaves are relatively small and the internodes are short, it’s likely the shrub will be dense.

NATIVE PLANTSBoorman’s wattle (Acacia boormanii)

Bracelet honey myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris)

Bushy needlewood (Hakea decurrens)

Coast tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum)

Crimson honey myrtle (Melaleuca wilsonii)

Dagger hakea (Hakea teretifolia)

Heath-leafed banksia (Banksia ericifolia)

Holly grevillea (Grevillea ilicifolia)

Kangaroo thorn (Acacia paradoxa)

Port Jackson pine (Callitris rhomboidea)

Silky hakea (Hakea sericea)

Sweet bursaria (Bursaria spinosa)

EXOTIC PLANTSAnchor plant (Colletia paradoxa)

Barberry (Berberis spp.)

Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora)

Mahonia sp.

Prickly myrtle (Rhaphithamnus spinosus)

Red-flowered escallonia (Escallonia macrantha)

Red-leaf photinia (Photinia ‘Robusta’)

Paradise for sma� birds

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INSECTIVORESMany of the insectivorous birds, such as robins, wrens and treecreepers, are quite dainty-looking. Their sharply pointed beaks are perfectly adapted to either flicking aside leaf litter and grabbing a worm, or fossicking through bark for hidden critters. Flycatchers, swallows and other birds that catch insects in the air tend to have comparatively wide beaks that enable them to snare their prey while darting about. Nightjars and frogmouths are nocturnal aerial predators, although they are not quite as agile as the swallows and flycatchers.

The insect-eating birds are hugely valuable in our gardens as they keep various pests under control. Planting grasses and small, dense shrubs close to the veggie patch for birds to nest and shelter in is a good pest-control technique. The plants also attract insects and therefore insectivorous birds that will (hopefully) also feed on pest insects. Recently, I’ve seen up to six superb fairy-wrens foraging for insects in and around my two zucchini plants. Some of the insect-eaters, such as fairy-wrens, don’t mind being out in the open as much as others, such as scrub wrens, silvereyes and pardalotes that prefer foraging through litter under shrubs. However, most insect-eaters love watching for prey from tree stumps, and these can be placed around the garden.

Numbers of small insect-eating birds are declining, caused by various factors such as habitat clearing, the use of unsupportive plants in gardens, and the increasing population of pet cats. Another factor is the disappearance of their food source due to chemical overuse, habitat destruction and the exposure of our cities and suburbs to more light at night-time. Street lamps partly account for this, but there are other culprits. Shops are open for longer; we’re out and about in our cars now more than ever before; trees in parks and private gardens are accented at night with spotlights; and fairy lights seem to be wrapped around every verandah and pergola, through trees and along fences.

Many Australian arthropods, birds and mammals are nocturnal, and it’s reasonable to extrapolate that they’re affected (possibly negatively) by these artificial light sources. This is something we can address in our own homes and gardens.

SEED-EATERSSeed-eaters come in many sizes: from the tiny finches to our various cockatoos. Their beaks are adapted to whatever seed they eat. Finches eat mature seeds of most native grasses, such as kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), tufted hedgehog grass (Echinopogon caespitosus), wallaby grass (Rytidosperma spp.) and weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides). They have short, almost conical, beaks that they use to crush the seeds. Cockies and other parrots feed on a variety of seeds, from grasses, to acacias, native cherries (Exocarpos cupressiformis), banksias and grass trees (Xanthorrhoea spp.). The shape of their bill allows them to grip the seed pod and quickly extract the seed.

CARNIVORESMeat-eating birds, such as kookaburras, currawongs, ravens and butcherbirds, have sturdy pointed bills enabling them to quickly grasp and hold prey (such as reptiles, frogs and mammals) that they’ve swooped upon from a tall tree, powerline or other high perch. While these meat-eaters could technically be referred to as birds of prey, that awe-inspiring title is reserved for raptors, such as hawks, eagles, owls, kites and harriers, which have hooked beaks with a sharp tip, adapted to piercing the flesh of their prey and then tearing the animal apart. Raptor talons are also highly adapted and are used to easily capture and hold their prey, which could be any small to large reptile, rodent or other animal, depending on the type of bird. Owls can squeeze their prey to death with their strong talons. Although their bill is similar to that of the parrot family, raptor bills have superior crushing power – parrots access seeds from pods by rolling and nipping, rather than by crushing.

Peregrine falcons living in our cities have been known to prey on pigeons, but if we live outside a predator’s natural range, as many of us do, we’re unlikely to see many natural bird predators (birds of prey, goannas, snakes). However, I was told the story of a pair of Australian hobbies that took over a raven’s nest in a suburban Canberra garden, raising two young the first year and three the following year. A raptor expert examined the birds’ scats and discovered they had been eating a range of birds that the owners had never seen in their garden, including double-barred finches and budgies, as well as locusts and beetles. Not having apex predators around isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many of our birds are already threatened enough. It’s extremely unlikely their numbers would ever grow to ‘plague’ proportions because the environment wouldn’t support them. Population numbers of all creatures are determined by available food sources and predator numbers, as well as by availability and quality of habitat.

Currawongs, ravens and butcherbirds are aggressive predators that prey on small birds. Ravens and pied currawongs can form large flocks that are supported by the environments we’re creating, in which there are more open spaces and fewer dense shrubs. To reduce their numbers or deter them from the garden, it comes back to using appropriate plants. Again, this is where dense and/or thorny shrubs are the superstars, and earlier in the chapter is a list of various natives and exotics to whet your appetite. However, you might not want to remove existing plants that don’t necessarily fit the bill but which you enjoy nonetheless. We can retrofit our gardens by planting low-growing shrubs, groundcovers or groups of grasses around existing plants. Closely arranged plants aren’t attractive to larger birds.

Owls are extremely useful to have around and, if practical, we should try to include a couple of suitable nest boxes. They have acute eyesight and hearing and locate their prey in complete darkness. Special wing feathers muffle the sound of their approach, making them the supreme stealth bomber. Owls (and other birds of prey) may hunt their rodent quarry by following the rodent urine trail, which reflects ultraviolet light. Two Australian owls that may be residents of or visitors to the ’burbs (where there is suitable food and habitat) are the powerful owl (Victoria, south-east Queensland and eastern New South Wales) and the eastern barn owl (all states and territories).

Text from Habitat by A B Bishop, Murdoch Books, RRP $39.99. Cover photography by A B Bishop, Georgina Steytler and Heather Thorning.

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