Hello, I am new here and I don't have a picture.
We are on 1 acre of previously cleared farmland on the edge of Dalby, Darling Downs, SE qld.
Have planted around 150 native trees and bushes in the past 18 months & for the first time, have Callistemons (mostly) blooming! I have been keeping a good sized bird bath full of rain water for the last 12 months and do find it is being emptied almost daily!
Have just started seeing a few little birds that I think are Scarlet Robins. Would we be too far west for them here?
Thanks in advance,
Therese
Hello ThereseT, and welcome to the forum. Wow, how great is that? 150 trees and shrubs, what a great job you have done
Now you can sit back and enjoy the birds. Not sure about the Scarlets? Look at some photos , the male is easy to identify, the girl a bit harder as she is not that bright red. I have a pair in my garden, but they tend to be more of a lone couple, I haven't seen them turn up in numbers.
Here is a male Scarlet Robin for you, do they look like that?
M-L
From the maps I've looked at Dalby would probably be within their range.
The other possibility (which would certainly be found in your area) is the Mistletoebird.
The key difference is the totally black head of the mistletoebird compared to the white patch on the Scarlet Robin.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Thanks very much. Appreciated.
I will take a closer look next time I see one, I have been out for several hours weeding and putting down a watering system today and have heard the distinctive little call. I have only seen 2. Must be a pair. The reason I think it's the Scarlet Robin and not the Mistletoe is that the Red is entirely down the chest not only high up on the chest. Also, the one with it does seem to be a female as it was not as colourful as the one I clearly saw, I'm sure of it. I didn't want to get too close and frighten them away! They did seem very friendly and were happy to be near me though.
Yes, Araminta, does look very much like that picture. I will look for the white patch. I was too busy admiring the gorgeous red chest yesterday :-)
As an amateur, I am pleased that the 2 options I came up with were these 2 that you both mentioned too:-)
I'll post again once I've had a better look.
The cheeky Willy Wagtails were the first to arrive of course, and there are a couple of Magpies that pretty much live here too and tease the heck out of the dogs! We have a new cat, but he is so lazy and not at all interested in catching anything, but he has a bell and is kept inside at night anyway.
Yes, we are doing well with the planting. It is a massive job but the reason I agreed to build a new house here, on such a big block was because I love nature and birds and wanted to do my bit to help the wildlife out here. I've put a fair bit of thought into the plantings and am making sure I have very large trees as well as a variety of smaller ones right down to prickly natives close to the ground for shelter from predators for small birds and lizards etc.
I'm making sure I have tracks of lawn and trees in various combinations for them so they can easily find shelter in a hurry etc. I guess I'm kind of layering all the way around, which also serves the practical purpose of giving us shelter ourselves. The wind out here is wicked in summer and winter and we need to block it off a bit for comfort, but also to protect the lawn from drying out all the time and to ultimately save water as it's pretty dry here.
Regards,
Therese
Again, you are doing a fantastic job with the planting
Why do you want lawn? In my opinion it's useless and needs watering and work. Have you thought of native grasses? All the native grasses are tough and don't need watering. They also will attrackt small seed eating birds, like wrens and Thornbills. Those little birds also build their nests in dense grasses. Just let it all grow and don't be too neat, birds love messy gardens.
Love your approach to " gardening."
M-L
Yes, I know, but I do love a bit of lawn between trees. I'm not really into the entirely arid / Desert landscape look, I grew up in the Outback and know I can achieve areas of lawn that will not be too water hungry if I'm clever with it.
Also, we still have quite small children and they love a bit of lawn to play on. For the Trampoline and Swingset etc. NOthing like a big patch of lawn to just enjoy for kids.
I'm looking to achieve a nice compromise.
We have 2 X 25000 tanks and hope to get 2 more soon (at our last home we set up not too far out of Toowoomba, we had 4 X 25000L tanks and a fully recyclable Grey water system too) We have a Biocycle system, so we recycle all our own water. So the Greywater can keep the lawn areas alive and in winter, the frosts kill the lawn anyway, so watering is pointless then.
Once the bigger trees are well rooted, they shouldn't use any water at all and same with all the basic natives, should use minimal water once established.
We have Echindna's here, have seen several since living here. Kangaroos of course, it's the Hares that are most annoying, after i put the first row of native trees in 18 months ago, as tubestock...they chewed the entire lot down to nothing! I was devastated, but, in the longer run, it will be better as they had 12 months just sitting there establishing their roots then (after I bought 120 hard plastic covered and hammered them in to protect the trees!) and they have all sprung from the base and are doing well now, really took off after 12 months just sorting themselves out and the soil is as hard as a rock too.
Thanks!
T
Out of curiosity, Therese, have you planted any species local to where you live?
Yes, as many as I can find out about. I have been interested in Natives and have done this before, but not on as big a block. Although I am from further west then here, I have tried to source as many "local"natives as possible to replicate what might have been here 150 yrs ago.
Therese
Good to hear, Therese.
If you need a resource for your area, "Woodland to Weeds" by Nita Lester is a handy book on plants of the southern Darling Downs area.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Ah, Therese, you've done my heart a power of good!
Thanks for suggesting that book. Jay what I need. It's hard to get that sort of specific information. I have mostly just looked around the bush myself and used my native plants books.
woko - birds bring me lots of joy, I've always loved them but never have known much about them. If the birds are happy? Then I'll be happy too:-)
And I figure, if we are going to live here successfully and we have stayed from scratch, it makes mist sense to create a garden that fits with the wildlife that lives here too. We can share♡