canary in the coal mine

Once you start loving nature not in the abstract but as particular thing, you can't help wanting to do something. And because birds are everywhere, on every continent, they are such a good measure of whether an ecosystem is healthy. So if you try to do something for them, you end up doing something for the whole ecosystem.

Jonathan Franzen, author  and birdwatcher,  Weekend Australian Review, August 6-7, 2011, p6.

Franzen's words are incredibly true. I know that since I have grown older and my connection to the earth and nature has deepened that I view my world differently . I care more, and I appreciate my environment more. I nurture it more.

We have a garden that is a happy haven for birds, and without a domestic cat in residence, the birds are safe in the tree branches. In recent years, I have really experienced some wonderful moments, watching the birds in our garden. Even as I lie in my bed, I can watch birds in the tree branches outside the window. Better than any stress medication!

Graham Pizzey  suggested the following trees for Australian gardens:

Eucalypts: These trees often have hollows in their trunk or in branch forks which provide shelter and nesting sites for many birds. Some eucalypts especially attractive to birds include:   E. planchoniana - medium-sized tree to 25m which attracts birds with its cream-coloured flowers. E. pyriformis - small tree with large and heavy red or yellow flowers. Grows to 5m.

Banksias: Most banksias are found to be attractive to birdlife especially to honeyeaters. There are banksias that will grow in most parts of Australia. Some examples are: B. 'Giant Candles' - a cultivar with large orange flower spikes which can grow to 40cm in length. B. spinulosa - a smallish shrub to 1.5m with orange-yellow flowers. It is often laden with flowers in winter.

Grevilleas: Many species of grevilleas are highly attractive to birds because of the nectar produced by the flowers. Some of these include:  Grevillea alpina - shrub to 2m which has flowers present for most of the year except autumn. Best in cooler zones, particularly southern Australia. G. asparagoides - prickly shrub to 1m which also makes a good screening plant. G. beardiana - a small shrub (to 60cm) with clusters of red flowers. G. 'Boongala Spinebill' - honeyeaters are very attracted to the red toothbrush-like flowers on this sprawling shrub.

G. 'Honey Gem'

G. 'Honey Gem' - a tall shrub with apricot flowers. Grows to 6m tall. Excellent plant to attract native, nectar feeding birds. G. 'Ivanhoe' - a dense shrub good for screening. Has attractive foliage and red flowers which feature for most of the year. G. robusta - the silky oak, a tall growing tree which flowers in spring with golden nectar-laden flowers. This tree is too large for a small to medium garden. G. shiressii (Mullet Creek grevillea) - shrub to 3m with blue-green flowers during winter and spring. 

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