Feather your nest

There’s nothing like the tweets and warbles of the birds that share our gardens. Sure, there’s the odd squabble and squawk, and they might ruffle our feathers now and then. But, in the end, these extended family members have a knack for making life richer, messier – and far more entertaining.

The key is to help make our feathered friends feel safe, well fed, hydrated and cared for. While a regular supply of fresh water is essential, it’s plants that truly meet the rest of their needs. From groundcovers to small trees, every plant in your garden can play a unique role, helping birds find food, shelter and a place to thrive. Most plants bring something to a bird-friendly garden, but native species – especially those from your local area – are the most beneficial. Here’s a guide to the many wonderful ways you can play host to our diverse birdlife.

Grasses & strappies

Grasses are essential in bird-friendly gardens. Many have weeping foliage that sweeps to the ground, forming ideal hidey-holes for ground foragers such as the common bronzewing and the grey shrike thrush. Green and dried blades of fine-leafed grasses – including kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), which is found Australia-wide – are used by robins, wrens, finches and others to weave their intricate nests. Some of these will be built within the safety of stiff or tall grass varieties such as spear grass (Austrostipa spp.), sedges and rushes. The patchy shade cast by grasses helps regulate soil temperature and moisture, creating ideal conditions for ground-dwelling invertebrates, which are prime foraging fare for birds such as wrens and thornbills. Add to that the fact that they feed the larvae of countless moth species and provide shelter for thousands of other insects, and grasses become a veritable pantry for insectivorous birds.

Grasses earn their design keep by adding movement, as well as providing structural and textural contrast to shrubs and groundcovers. The upright foliage of various flax lilies (Dianella spp.) offers a striking architectural silhouette, while their eye-catching blue fruit is a welcome snack for omnivorous silvereyes and yellow-faced honeyeaters. Kangaroo paw are beloved by sweet-beaked birds including spinebills, wattlebirds and local honeyeaters.

Groundcovers

As with ornamental grasses, groundcovers improve the health of your soil and protect it from erosion. Flat plants such as native violets (Viola hederacea), kidney weed (Dichondra repens) and running postman (Kennedia prostrata) are easy to maintain, add seasonal interest, and can be used in place of mulch to provide microhabitat for insects and ground-feeding birds. If brush turkeys and blackbirds are causing your low groundcovers grief, peg chicken wire over the top. The birds can still forage and scratch but the roots are protected.

Groundcovers don’t have to hug the ground. Many grow from 10cm to 1m tall while spreading 50cm to 1m wide, making them a smart landscaping choice. They suppress weeds and add low-level colour and food. They also offer essential shelter for seed-foraging finches and insect-loving wrens, among others. Nectar-rich varieties like banksias and grevilleas are guaranteed to attract birds, but even foliage plants such as prostrate she-oak (Casuarina glauca) and jungle brake (Pteris umbrosa) play a role by providing the low cover birds need to feel safe as they move through the garden.

Shrubs

Shrubs are star performers in bird-friendly gardens, and many of them provide shelter, food and a hideout, all in one. Bottlebrushes are a great example. Their vivid blooms brim with sucrose-rich nectar, which is perfectly tailored to meet the high-energy needs of their feathered pollinators. Many bottlebrushes, including the floriferous cross-leaved honey-myrtle (Melaleuca decussata), have prickly foliage or a dense growth habit that offers smaller birds safety from predators. The soft, papery bark of melaleucas is a favourite nesting material for numerous birds, including the restless flycatcher, which is found across the mainland.

Other multitasking shrubs include small banksias, correas, wattles (Acacia spp.), tea-trees (Leptospermum spp.), lilly pillies (Syzygium spp.) and saltbushes. The edible coast saltbush (Atriplex cinerea) is found in coastal regions throughout southern Australia. This silver shrub grows to 2m high and up to 2.5m wide and is beloved by local fairy-wrens, which socialise, feed and flit in, around and under them. Wattle flowers aren’t high in nectar but the pollen and seeds (green and dried) are a valuable source of protein, fat and other nutrients that parrots, pigeons, finches and cockatoos, among others, go nuts for! Numerous insects eat wattle leaves, so wherever there are wattles there’s likely to be insectivorous birds, too.

Trees

Trees don’t need to tower to be valuable bird habitat. The drought-hardy sandpaper fig (Ficus coronata) grows to just 6–12m. It produces small, sweet fruit relished by Australasian figbirds, green catbirds and topknot pigeons. Its rough leaves feed the caterpillars of various butterflies and moths that, in turn, may become bird food.

A beauty from the tropics of Far North Queensland, golden penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) thrives in the subtropics, too. Reaching up to 15m, it’s a superb shade tree, with glossy foliage that sets off its nectar-rich golden blooms – irresistible to lorikeets and friarbirds.

Many local species of wattles, she-oaks (Allocasuarina spp.) and eucalypts offer perfect places for birds to nest, roost, socialise and observe the world around them. Garden-suitable eucalypts, including Eucalyptus leucoxylon ‘Euky Dwarf’, which reaches 10m, and long-flowered marlock (E. macrandra, 8m), all have nectar-rich, bird-attracting blooms.

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