I have made a great bird feeding platform on a pivoting arm and have attracted all sorts of parrots. But just as the smaller colorful birds settle in, the bigger cockatoos swoop in and take over! I am happy to feed all of the birds but feel sorry for the smaller guys who are scared off by the cockies. Is there some way of making a feeder which will only 'fit' the little guys and allow them to enjoy themselves, and keep the cockies out? I was thinking of making a mesh box which will allow the smaller parrots to op through; the bigger cockies won't fit through the mesh aperture - would that work? Any ideas !?
Rob
Hi & welcome captainrob. I can see that you're excited by the colourful birds which live in your area. Fascinating & what a show they put on!
I've found the most helpful way of ensuring both small & large birds get a feed is to try to recreate the indigenous vegetation structure which would once have existed in your area. (I'm assuming you don't live where there is still lots of remnant native vegetation). To get advice on this you'd need to contact your local conservation groups or shire council. It takes time to do this "ecological restoration" but I've found it's provided me with a much wider appreciation of bird & other wildlife & their habitats.
For your information, feeding native birds their unnatural foods can be quite harmful not only to the birds but also to the surrounding native vegetation. For example, there's a tourist attraction near me which attracts honeyeaters, lorikeets & other birds by the hundreds using sweetened bread & water. These birds are attracted away from feeding on the local eucalyptus flowers & are therefore prevented from pollinating the local eucalypts & other plants. This means there is likely to be less regeneration of the forest vegetation & therefore a lower quality forest.
This might be something for you to consider in your approach to bird life.
Looking forward to hearing about your bird observations.
Hmmm maybe Rob. I have to firstly say that their are very different opinions on this forum regarding feeding native birds. Some people will say dont feed them at all, others will encourage natural feeding such as native plants etc & others like myself will sit on the fence with the whole subject....haha. I have found in the past that cockatoos prefer the larger seed such a sunflower. At my work, to discourage the cockies they use a smaller seed, like a budgie mix. To encourage the smaller parrots you could use Grevillea flowers for the nectar or try checking out what they are eating in the wild such as wattle etc. cheers daz
if your happy when your birding, flap your wings.
Hi captainrob - check out our guidelines for the domestic gardener on the bird-friendly garden section of the website :)
Thanks
I now have plenty to think about; while thinking I was doing the right thing, I'm probably doing the wrong thing!
We have lived here for 30 years and have an abundance of feathered friends. The trees and shrubs we have planted speak for themselves, but I have not seen the cockatoos in the same light - time to review!
Thanks
Rob
To actually answer you'r question captainrob, Yes that will work. I do it myself to keep the lorikeets and galahs out of the finch's feed. Ray
Captainrob, one of the many things I've really appreciated about being involved with birds is that it's opened up for me a whole new way of looking at the world. Before my interest in birds I had no understanding of the interdependence between all the different elements in the environment. E.g., the dependence birds have on plants for food, shelter & nesting & the dependence plants have on birds for pollination & seed dispersal. It's a wonderful world to be discovered if we care to sit for a while & look.
For me, trying to recreate, as closely as possible, the original habitat for wildlife has brought the richest rewards in terms of biodiversity. But even so I've discovered there are things I'd do differently if I was starting over. E.g., I would have paid greater attention to what grows in the little remnant vegetation remaining in my neighbourhood before beginning revegetation. Still, it's all a process & one of the things I've learned is that it's a futile exercise beating myself over the head about things I'd do differently.
I know this will sound hard and extreme, but don't feed them anything at all! Feed them by planting Australian native shrubs etc, this will attract them too on a natural basis.
Feeding wild birds with seed mixes from the supermarket only creates a dependency on your "daily feed ritual" and little else. In turn invites one and all (Cockies etc), once word gets around the bird community you are going to have a nice old mess on your hands.
My daughter started feeding through seed mixes when she was young, it was all well and great for the first few weeks. Then we started getting Feral Pigeons, Indian Mynahs, Sacred Ibis, Pied Currawongs, not one but five Kookaburras, Magpies and in excess of 30 Rainbow Lorikeets. It was so out of hand and so messy/noisy it had to be stopped. The Feral Pigeons (around 15 to 20 of them) were sitting on our roof all day waiting for feeding time.
So consider the above as advice/warning and speaking from experience! Raven.
please be mindful cockatoos can destroy a wooden verandah quicker than a chipie can build one.