They're back!
5 Yellow Tufted Honeyeaters!
Last recorded in the Camellia bush in the garden in May, 2009
Everyone should have at least one old style Camellia in their garden. In fact the ACT Parks and Wildlife Service recommended the planting of one Camellia in native gardens immediately after the Canberra fires to supply a feed source for honey eaters in the period between summer and autumn.
lucky you mtck. i would love to have yellow tufteds in my garden. sounds like you have a good bird friendly garden.
Cheers, Owen.
Wow 5... I have never even seen one .....that is great!
I love Camellias...when I grew up every garden had at least two, apart from the nectar they provide great cover too .
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I saw some yellow tufted Honeyeaters last year, but not this year!:-( How stupid were we? When we moved into this house,we had 5 Camellias very close to the house, we replaced them with Natives. Thought we were doing the right thing. Might not have been that good ?? But , they keep regrowing, I might let them do that now, thanks!
M-L
The only time I have ever seen YTHEs was one day while I was fishing on Pidari Dam near Inverell NSW. There was a group of them, probably about 5. I had no idea what they were at the time I had to look them up when I got home. They sure are beautiful birds and I also wish I had them around here.
Ray
Postscript to the arrival of the Yellow Tufted Honeyeaters.
That lot must have put the word out as 3 New Holland Honeyeaters turned up yesterday and bought along a few more Eastern Spinebills. There have always been 2 or 3 Spinebills in the garden but there seemed to be about 6 yesterday.
But with the good always comes the bad. The semi-resident Red Wattlebird is doing his best to chase the honeyeaters away and a Collared Sparrowhawk was circling overhead late in the afternoon (although he could be on the mouse eating diet - of which there are plenty).
Hi mtck, can I have my Honeyeaters and Eastern Spinebills back please? I think they are mine! It is so wet and cold at my place,and I have no plants that are flowering at the moment,so they have left. (gone to Canberra?)After the Wattlebirds finished breading, they went.I have to do a major rethink about what other plants I should be planting!My garden looks empty without those birds! Happy for you though.
M-L
join the club araminta. its been bucketing down at my place and the yarra river flooded again.
Cheers, Owen.