Honeyeaters and flowers

New Holland Honeyeater

We have several different species of honeyeaters in our garden. The dominant species would have to be the Red Wattlebirds and the New Holland Honeyeaters. The Brown Headed Honeyeaters, Singing Honeyeaters and Spiny Cheeked Honeyeaters are not as numerous, nor are they as bossy.

Several days ago I was amused to see one of our native plants , and Eremophila glabra (prostrate form) shaking rather violently. After a few seconds of this several Red Wattlebirds emerged and flew away. The bush is currently covered in flowers and they were having a feast.

Another plant that is popular is the Eremophila youngii shown in the photo above with an upside down New Holland Honeyeater having a feed. This plant gets attention from the various honeyeaters many times during the day.

Whenever the various Eucalypt trees around our house and garden are in flower, these too get a great deal of attention, as in the photo below with a Red Wattlebird feeding.

Red Wattlebird

A very effective way of attracting our Australian native birds to our gardens is to plant Australian native plants. There are literally hundreds of species to choose from, most of them quite easy to maintain and most have beautiful flowers, an added bonus. Here is a very brief list of some species that will attract birds to your garden:

• Callistemon
• Grevillea
• Correa
• Melaleuca
• Hakea
• Eremophila
• Banksia

For more information about growing appropriate Australian plants check out Mallee Native Plant Nursery.

Callistemon flowers