I have a mostly native garden in western sydney planted to attract little birds. Last year there were about 5 nests in my yard. This year for some reason I have seen almost no small birds, willy wagtails, silver eyes, fairy wrens, new holland honeyeaters, eastern spinebill, bulbuls, even the resident blackbird, have all disappeared. The most regular visitors are a family of wattle birds but they were there last year. In a nearby treetop a family of ravens ???
The possible causes are many & varied, Margaret.
I haven't kept my eye on Sydney weather but if there's been low rainfall lately breeding may well have declined because less food is available.
Those ravens could well pose a threat, especially at breeding time.
Other threats might include cats & pesticides.
Has there been any destruction of nearby bushland (if there is any in your neck of the wods) lately? Or have any of your neighbours been getting rid of habitat from their backyards? Reduction in habitat could be a factor.
Thanks Woko and none of the above afaik, well nothing new, but will ask around. Will post some photos - my backyard is a jungle now
Another reason might be dispersal of the populations you had last year without weather or other conditions this year.
Also, I'm wondering if isolated, high quality suburban backyards (such as yours) cause in-breeding among its bird populations. There are few places for the birds to disperse to & this may well have a bad effect on their populations. Just a thought.
Looking forward to seeing your photos, Margaret.
Hi Margaret, how can I see your photos?
thanks Gail
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/and-After-suburban-backyard?page=1
gail look at the end of page 2
and Woko, some of the birds are back now, not sure why there are less. Some of them seem to be in the front yard more than the back. Someone a couple of doors up seems to be keeping pigeons. Not sure how that would impact but it is the only different thing. They seem to just hang in his backyard and then he waves a stick with a plastic bag on it around and makes them fly around. I think this is sort of weird.
Margaret, do you think the movements of the small birds to & from your garden are related to the seasons in any way? Or to rainfall & any associated increase in insect populations or seed or nectar production? Can you identify the species of small birds? You're doing well if you're attracting small birds to your garden because I understand that you live in a heavily suburbanised area of Sydney.
Pigeons are generally seed eaters which means they would compete with any finches & firetails in your garden. Do the pigeons come into your garden?
I guess the plastic bag trick shows that we humans will do lots of interesting things to make animals perform for us. Perhaps it gives us a feeling of power over animals.
The fairy wrens were nesting next door in the aloe vera, but i think they gave up after the people put a caged lorikeet near the aloe vera. Now i haven't seen them in the backyard for ages but they are in the front yard. There were about 5 or 6 in the group. The new holland honey eaters seem to do well, they are back. The silver eyes are not very frequent but i have seen them back. Now and then i see a spotted pardolote. And for a while an eastern spine bill. The black bird was always in the backyard hopping around on the ground , it too has gone to the front. Bul buls like the yard. Pigeons never come in, but the spotted doves are always around.
I think there are lots of pigeon fanciers around. I friended one on fb and every one of his friends has a pigeon profile pic. And he knew the guy waving the stick around, i think they all wave sticks around in their backyards lol and make pigeons fly around in circles to train them. We have Peace Day every year at school and one of the teachers has white pigeons...doves, and they release them, and they all fly around in circles together, and usually one of them does a poo on a kid, then they all fly off home, while kid screams.
You're certainly surrounded by human interferences, margaret, so the fact that there are so many native bird species visiting is a credit to you & your garden.