We should spend more time in our gardens and parks enjoying the beauty of plant life around us. There is nothing more peaceful than sitting in the garden and watching the bird life as they feed, make nests, provide for their young, and teach their offspring how to fly away from the nest.
Take your children out into the parks and gardens and let them appreciate nature and they will grow up with a better understanding of our wild life.

ENCOURAGING WILDLIFE
As with any wildlife, native birds require adequate food and water, as part of a suitable habitat that provides shelter from the elements and predators, as well as nesting sites.
However, the needs of different birds are as diverse as the habitats they live in. Build a small shallow pond or bird bath into the garden area and plant natives that will lure them to the locality. Be sure to regularly top up with fresh clean water and keep clean. If your water container is shallow, make sure that you place it in an area where it will not receive the hot afternoon sun during the summer months.
Do not place close to children's play or activity areas where you wish the birds so flock.
On the tree branches, hang some assorted size nesting boxes with various diameter entrance holes in them.

A varied habitat will include plants ranging from groundcover species, small to medium shrubs, through to larger trees. A natural habitat will include dead branches and even trees, fallen logs on the ground, and accumulated litter and humus beneath the plants (Australian Government Publishing Service, 1985, Nicholls, 1995).

Few, if any, private gardens can offer similar conditions to a natural habitat. It is possible, however, to provide a broad enough variety of native plants in a suburban setting to encourage birds to stay in, or return to, backyard environments. An excellent new program, ?Flora for Fauna?, has a very detailed and useful web site that is a good starting point: go to www.ngia.com.au/floraforfauna/
Many nurseries and garden centres, councils, environmental and wildlife-oriented organisations around Australia are, or will be, involved in the Flora for Fauna program.

Benefits of Attracting Birds
Birds are seed-eaters (eg finches), insect-eaters (eg flycatchers), fruit-eaters (eg figbirds), meat-eaters (eg falcons), nectar/pollen-eaters (eg honeyeaters), fish-eaters (eg cormorants), or a combination (eg birds that eat insects and nectar or pollen). As such, to encourage birds to frequent your garden you should try to vary your planting as much as possible. A number of native plants will attract not only nectar or pollen eating birds to their blossoms, but insects too, which will in turn attract insectivorous birds.

Try not to be too tidy in some parts of your garden. Leave fallen twigs and bark to help form a layer of leaf litter for insects to hide and breed in (and microbes, small reptiles and frogs too). If you are worried about attracting snakes, check our Fact Sheet "How To Make Your Property Snake UN-Friendly".

One of the most comprehensive resources for property owners is the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, "Land for Wildlife" scheme that produces Land for Wildlife News and Land for Wildlife Notes on numerous topics relating to wildlife.

Another advantage in attracting different bird species to your property is that you will have a more balanced ecosystem. Some birds will return your efforts by eating insect pests that you may otherwise have been tempted to spray. Other birds, for example owls, may visit your garden and prey upon vertebrate pests such as mice and rats. (But if you have an aviary you may need to consider ways of discouraging owls: consult the Living with Wildlife Fact Sheet "Problem Native Animals (When birds become a nuisance)").

Birds Visiting Gardens
The species of birds that may be attracted to your garden not only depends on its botanical diversity, but also the region in Australia where you live. Following are some possibilities:

Bird Family and Attracting Features /Plants
1/ Herons, Egrets:- Edges of ponds, water features and dams.
2/ Ducks:- Water bodies and grassed areas (Wood Ducks in particular).
3/ Kestrels, Hawks:- Open, larger areas (to hunt rodents, insects).
4/ Pigeons, Doves:- Treed areas, native grasses eg Stipa, Themeda.
5/ Cockatoos:- Tall trees and grassed areas.
6/ Lorikeets:- Flowering plants eg Banksia, Callistemon,Eucalyptus and larger Grevillea.
7/ Parrots, Rosellas:- Treed areas (various species), open areas(for seeding grasses).
8/ Fairy-Wrens:- Thick shrubbery, insect-attracting plants eg Bursaria
9/ Honey eaters:- Flowering plants eg Anigozanthos,Banksia, Callistemon, Correa, Eucalyptus, Grevillea, Hakea and Melaeuca.
10/ Finches:- Seeding grasses, eg Cymbopogon, Poa, Stipa and Themeda.

Generally, the smaller birds will tend to be more cautious or timid than larger species. Finches or wrens will appreciate plenty of cover such as dense or prickly bushes (eg Acacia paradoxa, Bursaria spinosa, Leptospermum laevigatum). These plants also provide good nesting sites.
Some climbers are equally as good, such as Clematis aristata (Wrigley & Fagg, 1990).
For more details check the references at the end of this Fact Sheet.

Water
Water is as essential for birds as food and shelter, not only for drinking but also for bathing. There are many possibilities, ranging from a pedestal birdbath, a shallow clay bowl, a fibreglass pond, through to a free-form concrete pond built for the purpose.
Before you consider providing water for your feathered friends, think of its placement to make a stalking cat?s predations as difficult as possible. Prickly plants such as some Hakeas and Grevilleas placed nearby give smaller, nervous birds protection from such predators. If cats are a potential worry, you may be able to set up a hanging water bowl or one on the top of a post. Its utility may not be as useful as something may on the ground, but it's safer.

Dengate (1997), in "Attracting Birds to Your Garden", gives advice about placement, building and planting of water features.

Artificial Feeding
If your garden ecosystem is sufficiently diverse there should be no need to provide birds with any additional food. However, you may wish to provide a feeding table to enable you to enjoy watching birds that have been attracted closer to your home. Several considerations must be kept in mind: that the feeding table (like your water feature) is not placed to provide easy access for cats, and that you do not feed unhealthy food or so frequently that the birds become dependant upon you.

In fact, Platt (1995), in "Encountering wildlife without feeding", gives many arguments why you should not feed wildlife at all.
Speak with someone from your state fauna agency for further advice Nest Boxes
A high proportion of Australia?s birds, and some mammals and reptiles too, require hollows in which to shelter and/or nest (Robinson, 1992). If you do not have mature (100+ years old) trees in your yard or local area, it is unlikely that many hollow-nesting birds will be resident. Much work has been done over the past 20 years investigating what different species of birds need to nest.

Some of the references listed below (eg Bird Observers Club 2002, Dengate, 1997, Grant, 1997) have information about nest box shapes, sizes, materials, construction and placement.

References
Australian Government Publishing Service, 1985. Think Trees Grow Trees. Department of Arts, Heritage & Environment
Bird Observers Club of Australia (online) 2002. Artificial nest-hollows for some Australian birds. Available: http://www.birdobservers.org.au/nest%20boxes.htm
Dengate, J. 1997. Attracting Birds to Your Garden. New Holland Publishers
Grant, J. 1997. The Nestbox Book. Gould League
Nature Conservation Council of NSW (online) 2002. Create a Habitat Garden. Available: http://www.nccnsw.org.au/member/cbn/projects/earthalive/Garden.html
Nicholls, F. 1995. The value of understory vegetation. Land for Wildlife Note No. 32 January 1995. Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Victoria
Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (online) 2002. Flora for Fauna. Available: http://www.ngia.com.au/floraforfauna/
Pizzey, G. 2000. The Australian Bird-Garden. Creating Havens for Native Birds. Angus & Robertson
Platt, S., 1995. Encountering wildlife without feeding. Land for Wildlife Note No. 35 November 1995. Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Victoria
Robinson, D. 1992. Old Trees for Wildlife. Land for Wildlife Note No. 18 September 1992. Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Victoria West Torrens City Council (online) 2002. Creating Your Own Eco-Garden. Available: http://www.wtcc.sa.gov.au/backyardwildlife/eco_creating.html
Wrigley, J.W. & Fagg, M. 1990. Bird Attracting Plants. Australian Native Plant Library. Angus & Robertson

ATTRACTING NATIVE BIRDS AND PLANTS

Listening to the sounds of a waterfall and the musical tones of birds in your garden can put you in a relaxing state whereby you do not want to be disturbed by the outside world.

Birds don't flock anywhere without some sort of encouragement, you need a birds paradise with fresh running water and plenty of natural food. If you build the right surroundings they will come back each year and breed.

You need to plant native shrubs in the garden for food and shelter so some species of birds can build nests. Larger nesting boxes may be needed to be placed onto the boughs of trees to encourage larger birds.

ACACIA Baileyana (Cootamundra wattle) Seed
ACACIA Howillii (Sticky wattle) Seed
ACACIA Longifolia (Flax leaf wattle) Seed
BANKSIA Ericafolia (Heath banksia) Nectar
ANIGOZANTHUS Flavidus (Kangaroo paw) Nectar
CALLISTEMON Viminalis (Captain cook) Nectar
CORREA Alba (White correa) Nectar
EUCALYPTUS Ficifolia (Red flowering gum) Nectar and Seed
EUCALYPTUS Lehmanni (Yellow tipped mallee) Nectar and Seed
EUCALYPTUS Maculata (Spotted gum) Nectar and Seed
GREVILLEA Banksii Nectar
GREVILLEA ?Robin Gordon' Nectar
HAKEA Laurina (Pincushion plant) Nectar
LAGUNARIA Patersoni (Norfolk island hibiscus) Nectar
MELALEUCA Decussata (Totem poles) Seed
MELALEUCA Nesophila (Honey myrtle) Nectar
MELALEUCA Incarna (Grey honey myrtle) Nectar

PROBLEM WITH BIRDS?

A surprising number of native animal species have adapted to the changes in their natural environment wrought by humans. Some of the more adaptable have benefited when we have unwittingly provided food for them year round when they would normally migrate (Ford & Paton, 1986).

This Fact Sheet does not directly address bird problems caused by introduced species such as sparrows, starlings, mynas and pigeons (check with a local Pest Control company to see if they can assist). Nor does it give advice about injured or abandoned wildlife. There are wildlife/fauna rescue groups in all states who can help you.

A Natural Balance
In a natural ecosystem there are many checks and balances:
1/ availability of food and water and shelter and nesting sites.
2/ competition with other native animals for those resources.
3/ predation by other native birds, mammals or reptiles.
4/ infection by diseases and parasites.
5/ changes to their habitat due to natural events (eg fires, storms, floods)
(National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1993, Hussey & Wallace, 1993)

Add to the equation, human interference, with the introduction of exotic competitors, predators and diseases, plus the alteration or destruction of the natural habitat, and it is little wonder that any native animals become numerous enough to be a problem.

Benefiting by Change
As previously indicated, some native animals adjust to changes while most can't. Little Corella, Galah, White Cockatoo, Adelaide Rosella, Rainbow Lorikeet, Musk Lorikeet, Silvereye, Australian Magpie, Raven, Noisy Miner, Silver Gull and Wood Duck, are examples of bird species which may be more numerous around cities now than before development. An abundance of alternative foods (in fruit and almond orchards; backyard fruit trees and flowering plants; vineyards; when outer suburbia encroaches upon agricultural districts; open watered grassy areas) benefits many of these species in some way.

Commercially, some of the parrots and cockatoos can cause many thousands of dollars damage to fruit, grain and nut crops every year (Breckwoldt, 1983, Temby, 1992).

Solving Your Problem,
It may seem that there is little you can do to solve a "pest bird" problem. And sometimes it is beyond your control, as the answer may rest with your neighbour accepting an integral and long-term solution. If your bird problem is seasonal, restricted to certain plants, or on only part of your property, some suggestions in this Fact Sheet should assist.

One of the most common mistakes made by people aggrieved by birds is to try one "solution", and when it fails, to move on to another, and so on. This rarely succeeds (National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1988).

Consult your state fauna agency for advice about your particular problem (call their local office or check their Internet site). Most can give you information brochures, which address, for example: bird damage to crops, magpies swooping, birds hitting windows, swallows nesting under the verandah, cockatoos chewing cables or timber off houses, ducks fouling lawns or ovals.

Some Solutions
There are numerous products on the market, which purport to be "the answer" for your pest problem. There are: proprietary chemical repellents, repellers (sonic and ultrasonic), other electronic devices, protectors, deterrents, traps, scarers, netting, hummingline, kites, gas guns, bird-baits, balloons, foil and tapes, needlestrips, and no doubt, others. Which one(s) will be suitable for your problem? In some cases it depends upon your pocket, as some expensive devices are obviously intended only for commercial applications.
Many, though, are inexpensive, and can be effectively used in the backyard.

Due to the great variety of devices/solutions on the market, it is impossible to give a critique of them all, nor do we endorse any particular product or brand.
In one of the most common problems, when birds are eating fruit from a few isolated trees, bird-netting (available from hardware stores or garden centres) is a sure fire way of keeping them at bay. (possums too, but be aware of snakes becoming caught in the netting if it drapes on the ground). If this technique is not suitable for your situation, then some of the visual devices may work, eg glitter tape, non-electronic bird scarers, kites or balloons.
Check your Yellow Pages for suppliers.

If you are having problems with hawks or owls attacking birds in an aviary, consider enclosing the roof entirely, or construct a separate wire roof above the existing one (Shephard, 1989).

Homemade equivalents may be a cheaper answer to some problems. One of the most innovative is to attach a hose with a high-pressure nozzle to a tap with a timer that is set to come on at infrequent, intervals. The hose is placed in the area in question, and when the water comes on for a short time, the pressure causes the hose to whip around like a demented snake. There is also a motion activated water device advertised on the Internet ("Scarecrow"), at: www.innotek.co.nz/Systems.shtml

If you are tempted to use scaring techniques (gas guns, sonic repellers), or anything that may impact upon your neighbours or the community, check with the local council first.
To be truly effective, you should instigate your control measures as soon as you notice a problem, not after some weeks when the birds have already eaten most of your fruit, there are now 50 Wood Ducks on your front lawn, or you've replaced your TV antenna cable three times.
By then its probably too late.

Effectiveness
The effectiveness of bird-scaring devices depends on a number of factors:
1/ the behaviour of the species in question (whether they are migratory or sedentary)
2/ how often you use your control measures
3/ whether you adopt one "solution" or use multiple techniques
4/ how much damage had already been done before you started your control measures
5/ if your neighbours also do something about the problem, and lastly
6/ what alternative foods are available to the birds
(National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1988).

In order to be effective, any controls must be commenced immediately ANY damage occurs, and certainly prior to birds establishing feeding patterns. Control devices should only be used when birds are actually or likely to be feeding on the crop.
Generally, if there are no food alternatives at the time for pest birds, then scaring devices are not likely to be effective. Use of scaring devices should be timed to coincide with peak feeding times of early to mid-morning and late afternoon to dusk.

ONE LAST THING
Remember that the majority of native birds are protected in Australia, and it is illegal to shoot, trap or interfere with them without a permit from your state fauna agency. If you are in doubt, ask before you embark upon any control measures.

References
Breckwoldt, R. 1983. Wildlife in the Home Paddock. Angus & Robertson Publishers
Ford, H.A. & Paton, D.C., 1986. The Dynamic Partnership. Birds and Plants in Southern Australia. The Flora and Fauna of South Australia Handbooks Committee
Hussey, B.M.J. & Wallace, K.J., 1993. Managing Your Bushland. Department of Conservation & Land Management, WA
National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1988. Birds causing damage to fruit and crops and suggested methods of control. Department of Environment & Planning, SA
NP & WS, 1993. Native animals that may become pests. Department of Environment & Land Management, SA
Shephard, M. 1989. Aviculture in Australia. Keeping and Breeding Aviary Birds. Black Cockatoo Press
Temby, I., 1992. A Guide to Living with Wildlife. How to prevent and control wildlife damage in Victoria. Department of Conservation & Environment