Singing Honeyeater
2 Comments »11th December, 2008; Category: Honeyeaters
Singing Honeyeater
Singing Honeyeaters are a resident breeding species in our garden in Murray Bridge. We see several of them every day, usually when they come to one of our bird baths. We often hear their beautiful ‘preet preet preet’ call.
Singing Honeyeaters are found throughout mainland Australia with the exception of the east coast. They are not found in Tasmania. One of their preferred habitats is mallee scrubland, of which we have plenty around here.
They usually breed from about July through to February, making an untidy cup shaped nest of grass, stems, spider’s webs and usually made in a thick shrub. they usually lay 2 to 3 eggs.
Reference: Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight: Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1997
Related articles:
- Honeyeaters – a list of articles about honeyeaters from my archives
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
We usually have a plentiful number of honeyeaters resident and breeding in our garden and the nearby mallee scrub. Probably the most numerous is the New Holland Honeyeater. This would be closely followed by the Red Wattlebird and the White-plumed Honeyeater. We also have several Singing Honeyeaters. From time to time we have visits from a small flock of Brown-headed Honeyeaters. They love splashing in our bird bath. Several other species visit only rarely. Some I haven’t seen here in many years.
One species we usually have around the garden somewhere is the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, as shown in the photos on this post. This species has been rather quiet lately. Just before I managed to race for the camera and get these shots the adult bird was feeding a young one. They must have been keeping their presence quiet while they were nesting.
This species is found throughout much of mainland Australia but not in Tasmania. It is also absent from the tropical north, coastal south east and far south west of the continent. Its preferred habitats include drier woodlands, scrubs and gardens.
The plant shown in the photos is Eremophila glabra.
When they were little, our children used to call this bird the “yoo-hoo” bird. This is one of its calls and is quite memorable. My wife and I still refer to it by this name.
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
Blue-faced Honeyeater
20 Comments »29th October, 2008; Category: Honeyeaters
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Australia has many honeyeaters with over sixty different species. I have recorded ten different species in our garden, with all except three being resident breeding species. They are a constant delight as many of them frequently visit the various flowering plants around our property as well as visiting our bird baths many times a day.
One beautiful species that does not visit our garden is the Blue-faced Honeyeater shown in the photos on this page. This is a widespread species across the northern and eastern parts of Australia, except for the extreme south-east. Its preferred habitats include open forests, along water courses, woodlands, parks, gardens, golf courses, farmlands and along roadside vegetation.
The bird shown in these photos was seen in the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in north-west Victoria while on a brief visit in September 2007.
For additional reading about honeyeaters click here.
Related articles:
- Royal Spoonbill, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
- Noisy Miner – Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
- Mallee Scrub, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
- Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Honeyeaters and flowers
New Holland Honeyeater
We have several different species of honeyeaters in our garden. The dominant species would have to be the Red Wattlebirds and the New Holland Honeyeaters. The Brown Headed Honeyeaters, Singing Honeyeaters and Spiny Cheeked Honeyeaters are not as numerous, nor are they as bossy.
Several days ago I was amused to see one of our native plants , and Eremophila glabra (prostrate form) shaking rather violently. After a few seconds of this several Red Wattlebirds emerged and flew away. The bush is currently covered in flowers and they were having a feast.
Another plant that is popular is the Eremophila youngii shown in the photo above with an upside down New Holland Honeyeater having a feed. This plant gets attention from the various honeyeaters many times during the day.
Whenever the various Eucalypt trees around our house and garden are in flower, these too get a great deal of attention, as in the photo below with a Red Wattlebird feeding.
Red Wattlebird
A very effective way of attracting our Australian native birds to our gardens is to plant Australian native plants. There are literally hundreds of species to choose from, most of them quite easy to maintain and most have beautiful flowers, an added bonus. Here is a very brief list of some species that will attract birds to your garden:
- Callistemon
- Grevillea
- Correa
- Melaleuca
- Hakea
- Eremophila
- Banksia
For more information about growing appropriate Australian plants check out Mallee Native Plant Nursery.
Callistemon flowers
Red Wattlebird nesting?
Red Wattlebird
While having breakfast a few days ago my wife and I were fascinated by the antics of two of our resident Red Wattlebirds (a species of honeyeater). They were cavorting around in the melaleuca bushes a few metres from our sun room.
Now – don’t get me wrong. When I say ‘cavorting’ I do not mean that they were up to any hanky-panky. THAT obviously had already happened, I’d say.
This pair was busily swinging on twigs trying to break them off the bush. Every time one came off they would then fly directly to a eucalypt tree about forty metres away.
Ah-ha – nest building thinks I. Reasonably logical conclusion, I thought. So after breakfast I wandered casually over to said tree to investigate.
What? No nest! I was perplexed. I could find nothing. Mmm… perhaps they are quite clever at disguising the nest in the outer foliage. Not sure what they were up to if they weren’t nest building.
UPDATE: I went and had another look just now. Clever birds. It was there all the time, not in the tree where they were flying, but in the two metre high bush under the tree. Very sneaky.
Red Wattlebird