Summer Surveys Sizzle

It was (and still is) a long hot summer across the country with fires in places like the Grampians, flooding through Townsville and Tropical Cyclone Zelia off WA’s north-west coast. Our gardens may be small but provide much needed spaces for the birds occupying our comparatively small (but growing) urban footprint. In fact the Summer Surveys saw 283 different species recorded.

The Usual Suspects—and Some Intriguing Trends

Leading the charge the Australian Magpie took the top spot nationally, appearing in nearly 40% of surveys, just knocking off our usual no.1, the Rainbow Lorikeet. Magpies are found right across most of Australia, whereas Rainbow Lorikeets are much more confined to coastal regions of the mainland(whether naturally occurring or as an introduced species around Perth. Magpie-larks, otherwise known as Peewees or Mudlarks also climbed the ladder to be the third most common species seen.

Notably, two smaller species—Brown Honeyeaters and Willie Wagtails—also made it into the top 10, proving that it’s not just the larger, more conspicuous birds that are holding their own. The Brown Honeyeater’s presence highlights the importance of flowering native plants, while the ever-energetic Willie Wagtail remains a favourite in open spaces and gardens. We know through these Birds in Backyards surveys that Willie Wagtails are more likely to be found in gardens with 1. More than 50% lawn space (which is great for foraging for insects), or 2. More than 50% tree cover – which gives them roosting and nesting sites.

Summer Highlights

The migratory cuckoos – Eastern Koels and Channel-billed Cuckoos continued to make our east coast gardens very very noisy this summer. Not only were adults calling for both species, but for the Koels we had 3 different observations of young being fed by Red Wattlebirds.

Water was also a common attractant for a host of different species this summer – both native and introduced. We had a Brush Bronzewing, Brown Thornbills, Brown Honeyeaters, Australian Magpies, an Australian Ringneck, Australian White Ibis, Common Blackbirds, Common Starlings, Crested Pigeons, Eastern Whipbirds, House Sparrows, Little Ravens, New Holland Honeyeaters, Pied Currawongs, Rainbow Lorikeets, Red Wattlebirds, Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoos, Rufous Fantails, Sacred Kingfisher, Silvereyes, Singing Honeyeaters, Striated Pardalote, Western Thornbill, Western Wattlebird, White-plumed Honeyeater and Willie Wagtail. Amazingly there were even observations of a Brown Goshawk and a Brown Falcon ducking down to bird baths for a drink. Water is such a great way to provide a quick and easy resource for birds, especially over the hot summer months. Check out our page about providing water for birds for more information.

As the heat dissipates and we move into Autumn, you will also see a change in visitors in your garden. Tell us about them in the Birds in Backyards Autumn survey.