Why not go one step further than the simple bird bath? Designing your garden with birds in minds may lead to a greater range of species visiting your garden for food or refuge. Magpies, cockatoos, honeyeaters and other native bird species need a home and, in the urban environment, these are becoming harder to find.

No Place Like Home
Native birds are attracted to native plants. The type of flora you plant plays a role in the type of birds that will visit your garden. Honeyeaters and cockatoos are attracted to shrubs like grevilleas and banksias. Native plants will also attract lizards and insects which form part of a bird’s diet.

Three Storey Apartment
Birds live at different levels. Some live in the top storey, or canopy, of a forest while others live in shrubs or on the ground. Provide birds with different levels in your garden. If you have a tree in your garden, consider what could be using it as a home—you might even be lucky enough to have a possum as well as a bird.

Nectar, Seeds or Insects
Some birds like nectar, others like seeds. They may also eat insects or lizards. Baudin’s and Carnaby’s Cockatoos like nuts from marri trees and banksias, while Honeyeaters delve into flowers to extract the nectar. You may like to create a reptile- or insect- friendly garden as well to provide birds with more meal options.

Water Source
Birds love water, especially in summer when it can be scarce. You can provide a simple bird bath or create a pond in your garden for the birds to splash around in. However, remember to put the bird bath or pond close to shrubs or trees so the birds have somewhere to escape if threatened.

All the Colours of the Rainbow
Birds have very good eyesight and are attracted to brightly coloured flowers. Plant red, yellow and orange flowering plants to attract birds into your garden.

Nesting
While some birds will create nests in trees from twigs and other natural material, some birds require tree hollows to make their home. Hollows can take a hundred years or more to form in a tree and are in short supply in urban areas. To help these hollow-dwellers, you may like to consider building a nest box. There are many different ways to do this and it can be a great activity for the whole household. The Water Corporation’s Cockatoo Care website (www.museum.wa.gov.au/cockatoocare) has instructions on building nest boxes for cockatoos.

Ground Rules

• Try not to use poisons or fertilisers in your garden. Birds may eat insects that have been contaminated with the poisons and become sick.
• Cats will frighten and may attack and kill birds. Keep your cat inside or build an enclosed area in your backyard for your cat.
• Birds will find their own food in your garden so you don’t need to feed them. Leaving food out for birds may lead to more problems and attract introduced animals that will compete with and scare away native birds.

What birds might I find in my garden?
If you live in the Perth area, there are a number of birds you might find in your garden.

Honeyeaters, like the New Holland Honeyeater seen frequently chasing other birds around Perth, will be attracted to different flowering plants in your garden. Other species of honeyeaters include the Little Wattlebird, Singing Honeyeater and Western Spinebill.

Other birds you may find include the Crested Pigeon, Silvereye or even the threatened Carnaby’s Cockatoo. Purple-crowned Lorikeets can also be found in gardens, especially those with Callistemons (Bottlebrushes).

 Bird-friendly Garden Information Sheet.

Come and see our bird-friendly garden located at the entrance to the World of Birds at Perth Zoo.