Oh My Garden! Habitat Gardens for Small Birds

Boost the variety of plant life in your garden to help native animals and insects.

ATTRACT SMALL BIRDS WITH VARIETY

The variety of food and shelter your plants offer will get interest from different feathered friends. So it’s a good idea to make sure you have a range of plants to suit every bird. They might make a dream home for small native birds like wrens, finches, robins, and chatty willie wagtails.

COSY HOME PLANTS

Have lots of different native plants with a mix of canopy, understory and shrubbery for small birds to choose from. Encourage a vine to climb over soft, large shrubs to provide extra cover.

Try Planting

Small grevilleas, tea trees and callistemon.

Surround them with some thick, spiky plants like hakea, banksias, native finger lime (Citrus australasica) and Purple Myrtle (Thryptomene denticulata) to protect small birds from bigger ones.

BIRD BUFFET PLANTS

Trees and native plants are natural food sources. They have nectar, berries and seeds and attract insects – another food for birds. Bark and logs, rocks and leaf litter will also attract bugs and beetles for insecteating small birds. Small birds also use these materials to build cosy homes.

Try Planting

Grevilleas, correas, kangaroo paws, lomandra, tussock grass and wattles. And groundcover like native violet, native geranium and kangaroo grass.

Put native grasses and groundcovers close to the spiky plants to protect birds as they enjoy their seed and insect breakfast.

Willie Wagtail

Credit: Glenn Smith

FACTS ON THE FLY: THE WILLIE WAGTAIL

• Willie wagtails are found in every part of Australia except Tasmania.

• They hunt for insects in the air and on the ground while wagging their tail from side to side.

• Distinguish them from other birds by their black throat, white eye brows and whisker marks.

• Aboriginal people in some areas thought that Willie Wagtails were tattle tales – listening in on them, then telling secrets to others.