Guest Speaker at Mannum
Calothamnus flower
Yesterday I had the delight of being the guest speaker at the Mannum Garden Club. The small river port of Mannum is less than an easy half hour drive from my home. Like Murray Bridge, it is situated on the banks of the River Murray here in South Australia.
I should add that the speaking duties were actually shared with my wife. Almost exactly three years ago I spoke to the group about Australian birds, so this was an invite back to this very friendly group. I modified my talk this time around, talking about how to attract birds to our gardens, in particular native species. Because my wife accompanied me – and shared in the talk – I tapped into her expertise in the area of native Australian plants. We focussed on those species we knew would grow well in the area, and which would attract our birds. We made a good speaking team and were well received.
And the chats over morning tea were engaging – made even more pleasant by the lavish good old country style cooked cakes and biscuits.
I have another talk about birds coming up at the end of June to another group here in Murray Bridge, and just a short while ago had a call from the president of the local bird club, asking me to speak again at their meeting in two weeks’ time.
Offer: I’m getting to be quite in demand as a guest speaker. Book me up while I still have vacancies in my diary. I’ll even travel interstate if a plane ticket is included in the deal!
Photos:
Instead of photos of birds today, I thought I treat my readers to some of the flower photos I showed the group yesterday. Enjoy.
Further reading:
- Mannum South Australia – official website of this wonderful holiday destination
- Mallee Native Plant Nursery – link to my wife’s site about Australian native plants.
Banksia flower
Callistomen flower ("Bottlebrush")
Australian Shoveller, Laratinga Wetlands
2 Comments »7th January, 2011; Category: Ducks Geese and Swans, Good Birding Sites, Plants, Waterbirds
Australian Shoveller, Laratinga Wetlands, South Australia
Last Sunday I spent about three hours birding at the Laratinga Wetlands at Mt Barker in the Mt Lofty Ranges near Adelaide. It was a pleasant summer’s day with a cooling breeze. Overall I made quite a long list of birds seen. It was the first time I’d walked around all of the ponds in this wetland. The ponds drain the nearby treatment plant, purifying the water so it can be reused for nearby irrigation.
The wetlands are usually good for a large range of water birds, but the extensive planting of native Australian tree, bushes, grasses and water plants over the last 10 years has produced an environment suitable for many bush birds like wrens, honeyeaters and parrots.
On my visit earlier this week, possibly the best sighting was a solitary Australian Shoveller, a species of duck shown in the photo above. The photo also shows two Pacific Black Ducks in the background. The Australian Shoveller (also known as the Australasian Shoveller) is found in suitable habitats throughout eastern Australia and much of southern Western Australia.
Laratinga Wetlands, South Australia
Parrots eating our flowers
3 Comments »9th October, 2010; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Parrots and Lorikeets, Plants
Mallee Ringneck parrot
Mallee Ringneck parrots are common around my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia. Almost everyday we have a small number visiting our garden. In fact, I would regard them as a resident species because there are very few days when we don’t see or hear them.
They have taken a liking to the beautiful Eremophila plant shown in the photos on this post. The nectar in the flowers must be delightful to them. Of course, after they have visited each bush there is a carpet of petals on the ground under the bush.
Mallee Ringneck parrot
Mallee Ringneck parrot
Spotted Turtledoves nesting
14 Comments »21st September, 2010; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Nests, Pigeons and Doves, Plants
Spotted Turtledove
The Spotted Turtledove is an introduced bird species in Australia. They are very common in many cities and towns in much of Australia. We usually have a few resident in our garden and near the house. On many occasions they have made nests and raised little ones.
Two weeks ago we had a near disaster in our garden. We had a very large 15 metre gum tree come down in our driveway in a violent storm. You can see pictures of some of it on my writing site here.
A few days after the storm I noticed a Spotted Turtledove gathering small sticks on the ground just outside my office. It was carrying the sticks into the thickest part of the canopy of the fallen tree. Little did it know that I was about to cut up that part of the tree the next day. Our movement nearby and the noise of the chain saw just metres away obviously frightened it away.
Two days later my wife saw the bird carrying sticks to another tree nearby. This time it had chosen a tree which was not on my demolition plans. The next day it had changed its mind and was building a nest in a thick bush on the other side of the house, a site they had used successfully in previous breeding attempts. I will keep an eye on it.
Attracting small birds to your garden
Red Browed Finch
I regularly receive comments and questions about birds on this blog. I also receive comments and questions via my contact page here. I welcome these interactions with my readers.
This morning I received a question from a reader who is concerned about the finches in their garden.
We have been establishing a large area of garden for finches. Unfortunately I have a few crows now living around as they have decided my chook pen is a good restaurant. I have now cut off the egg supply but they are still around. Will they be deterring the finches from living here and are they a threat to them?
Thanks to Lee for that question.
Lee should be congratulated for these gardening aims. I assume that you have done your homework and planted bushes and grasses suitable to attract birds in general, not just finches. Finches – along with many of our smaller birds like honeyeaters, thornbills, weebills, chats, wrens and pardalotes – require a certain level of bushy shrubs to feel safe from predators. Plants like callistemons, grevilleas, melaleucas and hakeas provide protection, food sources, nesting sites and roosting sites.
Finches, being primarily seed eaters, also require a range of native grasses. These are becoming increasingly popular in gardens, not just to attract birds. Their colours and textures add significantly to the Australian feel of a native garden. Finches also love a reliable source of water, so a bird bath is essential to keep them around.
Crows, ravens, butcherbirds, currawongs and even magpies are all species that will raid the nests of smaller species of birds, including finches. They often take eggs and will also raid nests for the hatchlings. This is the natural cycle of life. Birds of prey such as falcons, hawks and kites will also raid nests, and also have the ability to take the adult birds resting or even flying.
The crows in your garden are probably resident birds. This means that they are not only present every day, they breed there or nearby. Your chook pen just provided them with an easy option. Closing access to the chook eggs was just a temporary setback to them. There must be sufficient food available for them to hang around.
Providing the finches have sufficient protection, a reliable food source, nesting and roosting sites, they should thrive in your garden. The crows and other predatory species I mentioned are a threat but probably not a deterrent.
For more information about Australian plants go to my wife’s blog: Mallee Native Plants
Good gardening – and enjoy your birds.
Diamond Firetail Finch