Magpies in the heat
Australian Magpie on a hot day
Yesterday we had the hottest day of this summer so far. It reached 45C under our front veranda – that’s 113F for those of you who use that temperature scale.
It was hot.
Very hot.
Apart from needing to go to the Post Office early in the morning I stayed indoors all day. The evaporative air conditioner chugged away nicely from late morning until well into the evening. One aspect of this form of cooling is that you need to keep a few windows partially open to keep the flow of air moving. We often open the sliding door shown in the photo above a few centimetres. It wasn’t long before the resident magpie family found the lovely cool air coming from the house.
Earlier they had been enjoying bathing in the bird bath, but this was even better evidently. At one stage I noticed six birds taking advantage of the cool air. It will be interesting if other species follow suit on the hot days still to come.
Australian Magpies on a hot day
Common Starling bathing
Common Starling (with female House Sparrow)
The bird baths in our garden give us many hours of entertainment. There is a constant stream of birds coming to drink, especially during the hotter months.
Quite often the antics of the birds bathing makes us laugh. This Common starling really got into the idea of having a thorough bathe. The result was not a pretty look – not like their usual sleek and well kept plumage. The new ‘hair-do’ … or should that be ‘feather-do’ might catch on.
The female House Sparrow in the back ground had to wait her turn for a bath – or was that a drink?
For more articles about our bird baths, click here.
Galah
Galah
We have a great variety of birds in our garden and on our five acre property. Some of these birds are resident breeding species, others are regular visitors while some are only occasional visitors.
Galahs are regular visitors, either flying over in flocks ranging from less than a dozen through as large as three or four hundred at a time. Sometimes one of these large flocks will land in the large tree near our driveway; their screeching can be a little noisy at times.
A few days ago the individual shown in the photo above decided to investigate our bird bath. He was very hestitant about the whole affair, and flew off wthout drinking. I’m pleased he decided to stay long enough to get a nice photo.
Birds in a Suburban Garden
Wittunga Botanic Gardens
Losing native birds from suburban gardens is an Australia wide trend. The introduced species have largely taken over, especially the Indian Myna and the Common Starling, as well as the Common Blackbird, House Sparrow and Spotted Turtledove.
These species have taken over gardens aggressively and compete with our native birds for food and nesting sites. Added to this mix is the very aggressive native species, the Noisy Miner which exhibits similar tactics to the foreigners.
Cats, dogs and human activity also discourage native birds like the Wrens. Once gone, they are very difficult to get back into a suburban landscape.
Callistemon flower (Bottlebrush)
Having only native trees and bird baths are a good start, but not the complete answer. Providing smaller bushes and ground cover for the smaller birds such as the wrens is most important. Our smaller birds need protection from predators and food such as insects, seeds and also nesting sites that are hidden from those predators.
If you look at a natural environment you will observe many layers – ground covers, small shrubs, taller bushes, medium and large, old growth trees which provide nesting hollows for parrots, lorikeets, possums, owls, bats and so on.
All are essential for a balanced, natural ecosystem and very hard to replicate in a normal suburban backyard. But that should not stop us trying. The more people who take this path, the better the chance of survival will be for many of our lovely birds.
Some suggestions:
- Keep providing water in the form of bird baths (but not food).
- Plant a wide variety of Australian species, preferably species found locally.
- Keep all cats away – they have no place in the Australian landscape. Period.
- Provide nesting boxes for parrots, possums and bats.
- Encourage all your neighbours to do the same.
- Spread the word: our native birds are threatened with extinction.
Flowers of a Eucalyptus Tree
Related articles:
- Caring for orphaned birds
- Caring for injured birds – including links to animal rescue groups
- Great birding moments: Cockatoo Valley – an example of an excellent native garden, together with some beautiful photos of Australian plants.
- Mallee Native Plants Nursery – my wife’s blog about growing Australian Native Plants.
Banksia
Mistletoebird at bird bath
I keep a daily eye on the bird baths in our garden. On several other occasions I have written about the visitors to the bird bath and I even have a list of those species to have paid at least one visit.
This morning as I finished my breakfast and was attempting to solve the cryptic crossword (only one word defeated me) I looked up to see a female Mistletoebird drinking from the bird bath. This is an unusual occurrance as I can recall only one other occasion when a male Mistletoebird came to drink.
The photo below shows a male. The female is plain brown with a red patch on the rump.
Mistletoebird