Nectar feeders for Australian birds? (1 Viewer)

[kristinbirds]

I live in the eastern United States and enjoy gardening and putting out feeders that provide "nectar" for hummingbirds. I've never been to Australia, but I know that there are species of nectar feeding birds found there--although not exactly sure what some of the more common, backyard ones would be.

My question is this--Is it common practice to feed artificial "nectar" solutions to backyard birds in Australia? If so, which species can be attracted? Do you have special feeders, or do you more or less just pour sugar water into a bowl?

In the US, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, hummingbirds very readily will come to feeders that are filled with "nectar" mixtures of 1 part white, granulated cane sugar to 3 or 4 parts water. It's a very common and enjoyable practice, and specialized feeders are commonly sold in stores. Are feeders for, say, honeyeaters (or whatever) sold in Australia? Or, do you simply set out bowls of sugar water? Or, perhaps it's not done, or doesn't work as it does with hummingbirds. Just curious!

 

[chowchilla]

I live in the eastern United States and enjoy gardening and putting out feeders that provide "nectar" for hummingbirds. I've never been to Australia, but I know that there are species of nectar feeding birds found there--although not exactly sure what some of the more common, backyard ones would be.

My question is this--Is it common practice to feed artificial "nectar" solutions to backyard birds in Australia? If so, which species can be attracted? Do you have special feeders, or do you more or less just pour sugar water into a bowl?

In the US, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, hummingbirds very readily will come to feeders that are filled with "nectar" mixtures of 1 part white, granulated cane sugar to 3 or 4 parts water. It's a very common and enjoyable practice, and specialized feeders are commonly sold in stores. Are feeders for, say, honeyeaters (or whatever) sold in Australia? Or, do you simply set out bowls of sugar water? Or, perhaps it's not done, or doesn't work as it does with hummingbirds. Just curious!

I must confess I've never seen nectar feeders here in Cairns, but since there is an abundance of native trees and shrubs with year-round nectar you don't really need them. I'm all for planting natives myself...

 

[kristinbirds]

Thanks, chowchilla. I'm new to posting on this forum and pleased to get such a quick response.

Feeders and flowers are not mutually exclusive around here, in the eastern US. I have a yard full of flowers, native and otherwise, chosen to be attractive to hummingbirds. I also hang feeders outside one of our windows, and our local hummingbirds visit both flowers and feeders. They don't really need the feeders, either, but then, why does anyone feed birds? It may not be necessary, but it's enjoyable and brings the birds in close for observation and photography.

I'm in a temperate area with fairly cold winters, but feeding hummingbirds is common even in climates like coastal California, where there are oodles of year round flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds. The hummingbirds can certainly find their own food, but it's enjoyable to feed them, so we do!

I've always had the sense that feeding sugar water mixtures to native birds was not a common practice in many parts of the world, as it is here, so that's why I offered the question. It's interesting to hear about practices and customs in other places.

I suppose this question might apply not only to Australia, but also any of the regions where sunbirds are common.

 

[SteveClark]

G'day Kristin

Bird feeding generally is frowned upon by the birding organisations in Australia and is not common as it is in England and North America. Sugar water will attract Honeyeaters but is regarded as unhealthy for them. Feeding wild birds (and other animals) often causes problems particularly in popular picnic/camping areas. We also have a higher proportion of introduced bird species than you probably do in North America and if you regularly put out seed you will mostly encourage the introduced birds.

That said, when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s we used to feed meat to magpies and Butcherbirds and put out sugar water for the Noisy Miners (a honeyeater).

Cheers
Steve

 

[kristinbirds]

Thanks, Steve. It's interesting how views can differ. Harm or benefit aside, given that these are the views and customs in Australia, this would explain why I have seldom heard much about bird feeding there. Perhaps the same views are held in other countries.

For some reason, bird feeding has long been popular in the United States. I don't know the history of this and how it has come to be so commonplace. I have heard and read discussions over the years in American birding groups about the possible harm versus benefits of feeding, but I think it's fair to say that no one has ever been able to definitively decide it one way or another. My sense is that the risks and the benefits mostly balance out and feeding birds is neither particularly helpful nor particularly harmful to bird populations as a whole. I don't think there's any overwhelming scientific evidence either way, and it's a difficult issue to study, I think. Mostly, the activity is beneficial because it is enjoyable to humans, and is one of many ways to promote interest in and love of birds.

Of course, I wouldn't even try to speak for the situation in Australia, with its own unique avifauna. That's a shame that you're so deluged with invasive species. Our three main alien pest species are European Starlings, House Sparrows, and Rock Pigeons. We do get House Sparrows at our seed feeders, and sometimes starlings, but most of the birds that I attract to my feeders are native. The Ruby-throated hummingbirds, of course, are also native.

As far as I know, as long as the sugar feeders are kept clean, sugar water in the proper concentration is not known to present a health hazard to hummingbirds. Sucrose is the dominant sugar in the nectar of hummingbird pollinated flowers, so it seems unlikely that it would present any sort of danger when provided in the form of sugar water. Other nectar feeding bird species may be different, and certainly fall mostly outside of my reading and experience. Although they seem to enjoy the feeders, the hummingbirds in my garden are free to forage naturally. I frequently see them feeding on insects and also at flowers in my garden.

Thanks again for your insights.