Feeding wild birds. Good or Bad??

Is it good or bad to feed birds? Soo many do it. Studies show that between 35% - 75% of households feed birds (World-wide) and Australia (35% - 55%) seems be along those same lines.

But what is the effect on the birds? Truth be known? We know very little.

The CSIRO did quite an in-depth study on bird feeding. It looked at it from angles I hadn't even considered. Religious & cultural importance. The relationship formed between the person & the bird.  Effect of urbanisation & MOST IMPOTANTLY dispelling many of the myths about why it's bad to feed wild birds. Also note worthy by them was, Australia seems to be on its own to officially discourage bird feeding, and they were at a loss to explain...  

http://www.publish.csiro.au/view/journals/dsp_journal_fulltext.cfm?nid=96&f=MUv111n2_ED

But the study didn't delve deeper into what was being fed & the impact that is having.

This month (August) Deakin University is holding a National survey for those that feed “wild birds” or have a bird bath. I have registered both the Tapas Bar & the Tranquillity Pool. They want 20 minute windows on feeding stations 3 times/week. Here’s their link https://csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx

I understand the 20 minute window, as you can’t expect Joe Citizen to spend hours doing this.
But I do spend hours. Not only that, I have Headley filming it all. I get to see not only the moment, but the background behind it. This I feel must be of some value to someone, and to that effect, sent off an email to Deakin Uni offering my help.
So in that vein I’m making this post.
It also allows me to add background to the photos. The survey allows photos with each species sighted, but a photo doesn't describe the circumstance. So while you'll find the photos up to standard, I might have to curb my humour (mostly) for this post and be factual.

I’ve done 4 surveys so far, here is the first 2. I’ve added a few extra photos to this blog to give background before the survey started.

2/8/16.

Tapas Bar
Today’s Menu; Finely sliced pear & grapes with apple match sticks, sprinkled with Panko Breadcrumbs (everyone likes the breadcrumbs & a teaspoon goes a long way).
During the 20 minutes; Both Brad the male Satin Bowerbird and Shiloh, his son, turned up, followed Cedrick & Daphne the Lorikeets. Then there was Red the protagonist Red Wattlebird.

This is Brad the adult male Satin Bowerbird.

He visits 3 - 5 times a day

His favourite food is grapes.

This is Shiloh, a juvenile male Satin Bowerbird.

He turns black at age 7.

His favourite food is mashed potato/pumpkin

Cedrick & Daphne the Lorikeets.

Cute & Colourful,

and will attack anyone that gets in their face.

They LOVE grapes

This is Red, my local Red Wattlebird.

Breeding season has just started

and he's been a handful taking on everyone,

including the Lorries.

His fav is  banana.

Tranquillity Pool

Shiloh was the only one.

Shiloh grabbing a quick drink.

Then there is what happened over 4 hours;
Cedrick & Daphne returned along with a couple of mates. It took them all of 20 mins to clean it all up.

Number one, that’s it. Stay there.
Two, back a little, a little more. Now don’t move.
Three, you’re going to have to pull your head in.
YOU PULL YOUR OWN HEAD IN! JUST TAKE THE DAMN PHOTO!

The day before the survey started, Red took on Judge John Deed, a Crested Pigeon. What happened was a surprise to both Red & me. Although I think Red got the bigger surprise. The Judge didn’t take a backward step. The next few photos were outside the survey time and are for background only.

You would think the Judge was in for a bit of a surprise.

You'd be wrong.

Stopped dead in his tracks.

Red runs into a brick wall of soft.

Reds final humiliation.

Look closely. That's Red tucked under the Judges wing.

The Judge & Jailer.

Seems birds do have a memory, for the next day both Red & the Judge fly up to the Tranquillity Pool. After an eye ball to eye ball, Red gave some unseen acquiescence, and the Judge proceeded to the Tapas Bar unchallenged.

The Great Stare-Down.

Acquiescence.

The next to visit is an interesting bird. I have a regular pair of Pee Wees (Magpie Larks), Pedro & Pernicious. They have the reputation of little birds with big heart. They will take on any predator and are quite aggressive. I don’t see much of that, except when a Local Sea Eagle cruises over. And I think that’s because of my next point of interest. They rarely visit the Tapas Bar. They’re in my backyard every day, they walk around the base of the Tapas Bar eating the fall overs, they’ll fly up to the Tranquillity Pool for a drink, so I know they can see the food, still they reluctantly feed off it. Today I was lucky, Pernicious came to check for any left overs.

Pernicious the female Pee Wee (Magpie Lark)

She has the white chin.

Rice & Breadcrumbs tempt her.

Shiloh returned while Cedrick & Daphne were still feeding. This lot have clashed before & Shiloh knows how cantankerous they are. He looks closely. Cedrick’s eating the last grape, there are a few tasty left overs, but are they worth the aggravation? He thinks not. But he did give it a bloody good look.

Could I? Should I?

It looks so tasty......but....

NOT worth the agro

5/8/16 (what an epic day this was).

Tapas Bar

Today’s Menu: Sliced grapes, diced apple & Rock Melon wedges & some breadcrumbs.

During the 20 minutes; Angelina a female Satin Bowerbird & Shiloh’s mother was the first in today.

She started with some grape, juggled it, lost it, and then decided that it’s easier to eat on the Tapas Bar.

Grape, my second favourite food.

Bugger!

Slippery suckers.

That's better.

This is when Red arrived. He was in a mood to take on anyone. Another mistake for Red. Angelina was like the Judge, but with a bit more attitude. She took him on, mid attack. Again he lost this battle.

Red taking on Angelina.

BIG mistake!

After having his arse kicked by a Crested Pidgeon & a girl, he needed some redemption.

Now who was the nastiest dog in the junk yard……..Cedrick.

With his back to him, Red launched his attack. Catching Cedrick by surprise, he did some Lorikeet surfing. He'd pushed his luck & won. He didn't try that again.

Yah Hooo. Ride that big green wave..

I'M LORRIE SURFING.

So now we have a really pissed off Lorikeet, and Button the Kookaburra turns up. These guys don’t like each other much. As for battles, so far the outcome is about 50/50. Today wasn’t Buttons day. He lost 2 for 2. The lead photo for this post where it looks like Button has Cedrick's head in his mouth is not what it seems. Check out the video. You'll be surprised.

https://youtu.be/fq4aFI2ReMo

Poor timing Button.

All she wanted was the rock melon.

Cedrick doing a bit of bird surfing himself.

This was the last straw & Button took off.

Down 2 for 2. Not a good day for the Kookaburras.

With Red “In Season” and taking on everyone. Losing some, winning some.

Well this has led to some unusual alliances.

Mal the Noisy Miner is a cheeky bugger. Every time he approaches the Tapas Bar he’s attacked by Red. But he’s noticed Red won’t take on the Lorries, so maybe a quick way to get a feed. Problem is the Lorries don’t like him much either. But their focus is on Red today.

Mals thinking

"Well they're not attacking me, that's a good thing right?

But they do look fearsome"

The next unlikely truce was with Shiloh and the Lorries Cedrick & Daphne. The Bowerbirds & the Lorries don’t get on as well. Again, like Mal, Shiloh is attacked by Red every time he approaches. Seems Cedrick & Daphne are Switzerland. Again, like Mal, they tolerate Shiloh.

Cedrick & Daphne are a pre occupied.

Good opportunity for Shiloh.

The Tranquillity Pool
Again Shiloh was the only one.

Well, that's it for now.
Keep tuned for the next instalment of the National Bird Survey.

Hear Ye. Hear Ye

The Tapas Bar is Mine.

My name is Red.

An Evolving Idea

Looks like I’ve gone full circle.

To attract birds I put in a solar powered bird bath (the Tranquillity Pool).
What a lemon. 5 months and not one visit.

I then put a bird feeding station (the Tapas Bar) next to it.

What a success, well sort of. Birds came from everywhere to feed at the Tapas Bar, but still ignored the Tranquillity Pool.

The success of the Tapas Bar has been my main focus for the last few years.

To keep my photos interesting I move the Tapas Bar & Headley (my GoPro camera) around the backyard for different backdrops. I change the food to try to target specific birds. I’ve added flowers & petals for colour & texture..
It’s been an interesting and rewarding journey so far with a stacks of great photos.

Recently the solar system died on the Tranquillity Pool, so I removed the panels and the statue to see if I could repair. To my amazement a couple of birds came in for a bath. It turns out the statue didn’t give them enough room. Who’d of thunk it hey?

DING! A lightbulb moment.
Position Headley next to the Tapas Bar to get them swimming.
On cue Pedro the Pee Wee called in for a Wee dip. Video below.

Taking a closer look at the Saratoga Aurora

Pedro the Pee Wee is such a boy.

He loves blowing bubbles in the bath.

When he left I got another bonus. One of my Kookaburras came in for a drink. Now normally these guys don’t drink, getting enough moisture from their prey. In the 3 years the bird bath has been in, this is the 4^th or 5^th time I’ve seen this. Again, video below.

Well that was a quick result. This idea led to the next.

Place the Tapas Bar flush with the Tranquillity Pool & position Headley on the other side.

Wow, I liked what I got, but the birds were too far away. There was a bit of action this day & Headley was just that little bit too far away. The highlight today was the Judge (Crested Pigeon) coming in for a drink.

Little John joining her partner Red.

Yes I know. She was named before I knew her sex.

Mal the Miner challenging Brad.

He is a cantankerous bugger giving everyone a hard time.

But sometimes the birds have just had enough of Mal

and dish a bit back.

Turns out very few animals can drink like us humans.

Pigeons & Doves are the only birds.

This led to the next idea.

Remove the Tapas Bar, refit the far solar panel as a feeding station, and see what happens.

Mal the Noisy Miner.

If he not annoying the others, he's annoying the shit out of me.

Here he is manoeuvring the last grape to edge of the water....

So he could push it in.

While I liked the result, it still needed something.

Headley needed to get closer. Time to see if he truly is waterproof.

I paced him where the other solar panel goes (so opposite the feeding platform).

What a difference that change made.

But I felt Headley was still a little too far away. Closer is better right?

My next issue was the shape of the Tranquillity Pool and how to get Headley closer?

Headley has a mount on the bottom, so I can’t just sit him in the shallow section. What to do?

Cut a piece to potato to the right contour of the Tranquillity Pool, carve out a groove for Headley’s mount, position his lens at water level, and………………….WOW.

Now I need to play with position and time. As with the Tapas Bar, Headley & the Tranquillity Pool are now mobile.

It only took a day or so for Brad, Angelina & Shiloh, my family of Satin Bowerbirds, to become accustomed to the new set up. Brad was the first one to check it out. He and his son Shiloh have given me some great photos, but the best are of Angelina. I haven't seen her for 12 months.

It was late in the arvo, the shadow was quickly creeping across the yard as the sun slide behind the hill behind my place.  On the veranda above, I stood up to go & collect Headley. As I did, Angelina flew in. The Tranquillity Pool is now in shadow as would the background in the next minute.

Just like a star, she knows how to make a grand entrance.

Angelina, timing it to the last second to get that "Just perfect" light.

Angelina is a female Satin Bowerbird.

Compare here eyes to that of Brads in the next photo.

Hers are blue

His are mauve.

This is Shiloh, Brad & Angelina's son from last year

He looks identical to his mum & will do for the next 6 years.

One of the signs of him being a male is the eyes.

He has mauve blotches around his pupil.

It had caught his attention.

Slowly the shadow was moving around the pool.

He needed to get a closer look.

Closer....

Suddenly the water boiled like lava.

He recoils and says........

Faarrk.

That's...

One...

Juicy...

Grape...

Don't you just hate it when your nose runs like a tap.

I had a treat one arvo. I thought the three Bowerbirds that visit were the only ones in the area, but this arvo a mob of juvenile male Satin Bowerbirds came in. I had recently seen a David Attenborough doco on this. These guys don’t mature & turn black until seven, so they have a lot of free time on their hands, and form gangs. This is from Birds in Backyards;

“The mature male Satin Bowerbirds are mostly solitary, but the 'green' birds are often seen in groups or quite large flocks. In winter (outside of the breeding season), birds move to more open country, and occasionally enter orchards. At this time, mature males may join the 'green' bird flocks.”

The Lorries, Cedrick & Daphne, were next. I love these guys. They add colour and drama whenever they’re around. They either like you or don’t like you, but you won’t know which until you’re face to face. See they’re a bit ‘Jekyll & Hyde’

Will he be Jekyll...

Or will he be Hyde today?

A Bird.

A Reflection.

A Shadow.

It’s rumoured the Tranquillity Pool has magic powers.
That the Pool is filled by a mystical spring.
Eat of its fruit for eternal beauty.Drink from its waters for eternal wisdom.
After watching Daphne eat the fruit, there was only one choice left for Cedrick....
He needed…no…..must drink from the Pool.
He knew he’d need the wisdom to deal with Daphne.
She was a handful now, and the way she was digging into that fruit, he could only imagine what would be coming.
He drank and drank and drank.

Mal takes on all.

Well almost all.

Cedrick scares the shit out of him

Mal giving Cedrick some room.

Seems Judge John Deed isn't to keen on Mal either.

Now, this puts Cedrick in an unusual position.

Him & the Judge don't normally get on.

My Enemies enemy. Therefore you must be my friend.

And an unlikely friendship started.

Cedrick, from the wrong side of the tracks, mates with a Judge

Others in Cedrick's crew completely misread the situation.

Coming to Cedrick's defence wasn't his brightest move.

The Judge flew off, which left him on a collision course with Cedrick

Now Cedrick doesn't suffer fools lightly.

As he would find out.

Still a work in progress, but I’m getting there.

To see what happens next, you’ll have to come back next post.

See you then…..Hopefully.

Here is Pedro's dip.

https://youtu.be/mkuSTjPqZMU

And my dinking Kooka
https://youtu.be/qwnP5UXZjLA

Don't forget the fighting lorries
https://youtu.be/YRGaIDW9L9w