Attracting Birds To Your Yard

Waking up and hearing bird song in the morning is one of my favourite sounds, there's nothing like the chirpy cheep of wrens, or the chortle of a magpie as the kookaburras laugh. I love seeing them in my garden too, currently I have a few honeyeaters that flit back and forth from the smaller trees, a pair of twenty eights that like to swing off my washing line, and a pair of pink and grey galahs that sit and stare at the sunset on the wires up high. They are all so different, but equally as beautiful.

It would be nice to have a few more visitors though, so I'm going to plant and provide for them, welcoming them into 'our' space.

I've not long ago moved into my house, but my garden has a lot of open space, not many, if any shrubs, there's four neglected fruit trees, and pretty much just grass, which is only now coming back to life.

So I need to get a few more things in there. There is going to be some more fruit trees of varying heights,  densities, and shapes. A huge variety of shrubs will go into the front yard, along with a smaller growing eucalyptus. There will be some ground covers scattered thoughout.

It is always best to plant plants that are native to your area so that it is a natural food source for your winged friends. However because I keep honey bees, I will likely be having a mix of native and non-native plants to ensure a food source all year round.

Now, everyone knows there are different types of birds, but there are birds that prefer different places in your garden. Generally there are five types:
. High flyers
. Medium sized shrubs
. Low lying
. Grasses
. Groundcovers

Birds that are going to be high flyers are birds like your parrots, kookaburras, frogmouths and generally bigger birds. Medium sized shrubs (5 meters and under) will attract lots of birdlife, it provides the height still for you larger species, but shelter for your smaller birds. Low lying shrubs will start attracting smaller birds, especially your low lying native shrubs such as Grevilleas, these will attract things like your honeyeaters. Grasses tend to be more for those little wrens, silver eyes and smaller birds, this is the same for your ground covers, which tend to harbour lots of bug life and be little havens for worms and such. So it really depends on what type of bird you want to attract as to what you should plant and supply.

NOTE: Some of your smaller birds such as Willy Wagtails and Wrens can get quite defensive and aggressive to bigger birds that threaten their area, so keep that in mind.

What are some common birds found throughout Western Australia we might see in our gardens:

. Scarlet Robins

. Fantails

. Fairy Wrens

. Shallows

. Brown Honeyeater

. White Cheeked Honeyeater

. Tawny-crowned honeyeater

. New Holland Honeyeater
. Silver Eyes

. Red Capped Parrot
. Pink and Grey Galah
. Cockatoo's
. Lorikeets
. Western Greygone
. Laughing Turtle-dove
. Western Rosella
. 28 Parrot
. Kookaburra
. Butcher Bird
. Hawks/ Kestrels

. Willy Wagtails

This is just a handful of what can be found here in West Oz, so you need to think about what it is you want to attract to your garden.

Not all birds eat the same things either, some like berries, others seeds and nuts, nectar, or insects. They also nest in different places, bigger birds are likely to be up higher on bigger limbs or in hollows, where as your smaller birds will seek shelter in denser bushes or hedges.

NOTE: Attracting Kookaburras and larger predatory birds can scare away smaller birds, fearing they may become a snack!

Now to the plants!

For your high flyers things like:
. Eucalyptus (any variety)
. Native Frangipanis,
. Grevillea robusta 'Silky Oak'

. Lilly Pilly (larger varieties)

. Banksia (larger varieties)

. Wheel of Fire

. Paperbarks

. Allocasuarina 

Great medium shrubs and trees include:

. Grevillea

. Bottlebrush
. Leptospermum
. Teatree
. Hakea
. Melaleuca
. Acacia

Small and low lying shrubs:
. Correa
. Lilly Pilly (dwarf varieties)
. Philotheca
. Kunzea
. Midyim Berry
. Westringia
. Chorizema

Grasses come in a massive variety for Australia:
. Kangaroo Paw (many sizes)
. Lomandra
. Dianella
. Rushes


Now, ground covers, where do I start:
. Banksia (groundcover variety)
. Grevillea (groundcover variety)
. Brachyscome
. Hibbertia
. Scaevola
. Myoporum

Birds also need water, both for drinking and for bathing. Providing a good,clean source of water for them is going to make your garden far more appealing, especially during those sizzling summer months.

You can add bird feeders, but it tends to make them reliant on us for food. If you are going to put a feeder out, mix up the days and only once a week to fortnight. Also considered your new friends, if they're nectar eaters, they aren't going to be interested in the seed you offer. Same with Willie Wagtails, they will take mealworms and grubs over anything else. They'll also be your best friend and never let you stop feeding them!