24
Aug
Love honeyeaters and want to see more of them?
Honeyeaters are wonderful birds to photograph as they usually surround themselves with beautiful flowering plants. Many of these shrubs and trees can be found or easily planted in your backyard. I planted several Grevillea and Banksia shrubs in my front garden a few years back and now honeyeaters come to them every day.
There are over 185 species of honeyeaters and I haven’t met them all as yet but here are the ones I have encountered and I will add to the list as I discover more.
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Early on, I used to get confused between the Yellow-faced honeyeater and the Lewin’s. The main way I can tell them apart is by the yellow strips that run along their cheeks down to their mouths.
What to plant – Silver Banksia, Heath-leaved Banksia, Grevillea, Green Spider Flower and Mountain Devil
Lewin's honeyeater
The Lewin’s honeyeater favour berries, as you can tell, though they also love nectar. I hear their “machine gun” call often but they are difficult to spot.
What to plant – Lillypilly, Dwarf’s Apples, Moreton Bay Fig, Morinda, Elderberry and Maiden’s Bush.
Scarlet Honeyeater (myzomela) - Male
During the warmer months, Scarlett honeyeaters like to feed on blossoms on the top of Turpentine, Melaluca and Pittosporum trees.
I have spotted them much lower than that, foraging for nectar, insects or water.
Scarlet Honeyeater (myzomela) - Female
They used to be common in Sydney, we now only see them during the colder months when they come down from the mountains.
What to plant – winter flowering natives such as Callistemon, also Grevilleas, Banksia, Turpentine, Pittosporum and Melaleuca.
Bell miner
You can hear them well before you encounter them by their “bell-like” sound. They are another bird that forage high in the canopy but they will pop down occasionally for a drink or a rest.
What to plant – Eucalyptus, banksia and mistletoe.
Noisy Miner
What can I say? These guys are ubiquitous to the point of being annoying.
What to plant – The Miner seems to like pretty much any sweet plant. In my garden alone, they feed on the Peaches and Cream, Grevillea, Banksia and Gymea Lily.
White-cheeked honeyeater
At first, I was easily confused by these two but I have them sorted now. It is easier to see them side-by-side. I recently found hundreds of these White-cheeked honeyeaters at Box Head in Bouddi National Park.
What to plant – Grevilleas, Callistemons and Banksia
New Holland Honeyeater
Where the Little Wattlebird goes, you’ll often find New Holland Honeyeaters vying for the same space as they like to suck the nectar from the same flowering shrubs. I found a group of NHH in a large banksia area in Curl Curl.
What to plant – Banksia, Callistemons (Bottlebrushes), Grevilleas, Emu Bush (Eremophila youngii) and native flowering plants like Xanthorrhoea and Acacia.
Brown Honeyeater
Mainly found in the canopy of trees, I was lucky enough to come across a group of Brown Honeyeaters at eye level. In fact, one flew straight at my head and I had to duck!
What to plant – Whilst they love the nectar from flowering mistletoe and mangroves, you can plant Bloodwood, Woollybutt, Cajeput, Banksia and Grevillea
Blue-faced Honeyeater
I came across this guy in the backyard of a friend’s home in Ballina. They are known to enjoy cultivated crops such as bananas, which makes sense given we were in Banana country.
What to plant – Whilst they mainly eat cockroaches, grasshoppers and other bugs, they also like Xanthorrhoea and Scarlet Gum.
Eastern Spinebill
The Eastern Spinebill loves your garden. Easily distinguishable by its long curved beak, which is perfect for sucking out nectar out of tubular flowers such as epacrids though they do love Grevillea and the Lantana flower as in this photo though we don’t want to be planting this weed in our gardens.
What to Plant – Kangaroo Paw, Seaspray, Mountain Devil and Grevillea
White-eared Honeyeater
I found this White-eared honeyeater along the fire trail at Muogamarra National Park. He and his friend happily hopped from shrub to shrub looking for dinner.
What to plant – trees with soft peeling and flaking bark for insects during winter and Autumn and flowering nectar plants during Spring and Summer.
Little Wattlebird
A relatively large bird that like to perch whilst it feeds diving its nose deep into the flowers of many a native shrub or tree. I found this guy in Banksia heaven on the clifftop at Curl Curl but I have seen them all over Sydney in Eucalypts, Banksia and other flowering shrubs.
What to Plant – Callistemon (Bottlebrush), Banksia
Red Wattlebird
I came across this Red wattlebird in Canberra recently, where they appear in abundance at the Botanic gardens and local bushland.
What to plant – Callistemon, Grevillea, Melaluka, Hakea, Correa, Eremophila or Banksia
Noisy Friarbird
I have seen loads of these up the coast of NSW where they hang out in large flocks.
What to plant – Raintree, Xanthorrhoea, Eucalyptus erythronema, Eucalyptus petriolaris and other flowering gums.
Fuscous Honeyeater
Not a great shot but I was lucky to get this one because he is usually very high up in the canopy and was only visiting briefly from the Blue Mountains.
What to plant – Eucalypts, Mistletoe.
Other Nectar feeders
Whilst not officially in the “honeyeater” group, there are other birds that love to sip the sweet nectar of our native plants.
Rainbow Lorikeet
Silvereye
Useful Websites
The following websites are useful to find out more about planting natives for our birds.
iNaturalist Australia | Backyard Buddies | Birds In Backyards
Until next time..
I have a few more honeyeaters to find, in particular, the Regency, Striped, Singing, Tawny-crowned, Black, Banded, White-plumed, White-gaped. Rufous-throated, yellow tinted and Painted Honeyeaters. Many are not from around here so it may take me some time to travel to the areas where they can be found. I’ll get there so stay tuned.
Wish me luck. Meanwhile, happy birding. N x
