You Can Have Wildlife in Your Backyard

As I said in the previous post about backyard birdwatching, anyone with an average backyard can attract creatures of all sorts to provide endless watching (and meditative) pleasure.  However you will need to be committed to certain activities if you wish to have a backyard that is a safe haven for animals, birds and other creatures like frogs and lizards.  The first is to protect all species from marauding domesticated pets like dogs and cats.

Every now and then, I take pity on the dog next door which is lonely and bring it over to spend the day with me and my elderly terrier.  The dog next door has had to learn to leave the lizards, frogs, birds and so on alone when she is here at my place, because they have right of way.  Our terrier just wanders around among them and every now and then there is a bit of a kerfuffle when she comes upon an unsuspecting bird, but they all know that she knows the rules.  No animal chasing in this backyard!  That is essential if you want to have a natural backyard.

Next thing to think about is a protective place to sleep and breed.  I have planted both natives and introduced plants so that there will be variety and plenty of food.  For birds it is essential to have dense, small and large plants, open plants that are taller for perching and watching and some grasses as well.  For lizards it is important to have a place for them to hide as well as safe sunny spots for warming up.  Any sort of bark, hay, mulch will work as will small pipes or logs, whichever is easy to come by.  Now frogs are a specialist matter and well beyond my capacity to advise however I will say that removing all poisons from use in your area will definitely see frogs returning.

Remember a natural habitat is a delicate balance between food for the wildlife and an excess of pests.  If you want to have wildlife to watch, you have to be prepared to let them have food to eat!  And this includes bugs.  If there are no bugs to eat, the wildlife do not come.  So be prepared to tolerate some bugs and just let the wildlife clean them all up.  In the midst of all of this, we grow vegetables and have very little concern about bugs.  Along with bugs, be prepared to tolerate some seeding weeds and overgrowth.  Wildlife love to have cover and they must have the full range of food, including seeds and all sorts of weeds produce seed which our native birds find very tasty.

Now this tip is a bit controversial, but I do put out some seed most days and we have a continuous parade of visitors coming to see what is on offer today.  Some people say that you should not do this because the birds become dependent, others say it is ok if you do not do it every day.  I have found that putting out a small amount seems to work as we have varying numbers of birds coming to the feed and also varying varieties.  And we do not feed every day.

Finally, provide water in shallow, open containers and be prepared to wait until the birds get used to them.  We have had one pot drainage tray sitting on a post for a long time and the birds used it all of the time.  We then introduced a large, deepish bird bath and I had to make it shallower, by adding stones, and wait for ages before the birds finally adopted it and now use it equally.  Water and birds are a delightful mix and as they are very relaxed in our yard, they bath for ages and some even just sit in it on a hot day.  I also spray the leaves of a few bushes in the afternoons for those birds that love to bath that way.  It is great fun to hold the hose while they come in close, however it is also important to be aware of water restrictions.  I hold onto this activity for really hot weather.

So just go for it, attracting the wildlife back into suburbia is both lots of fun and good for the planet.  Not to mention a great meditative experience watching to see who is coming to visit and what they do while there.  Meditation made easy!  Start out with what you can do and then add to it as you see what works in your area.  Experiment and have fun.

I Love Backyard Birdwatching!

There really is something about birds for me. I have no idea what it is but I find it incredibly enjoyable and satisfying to watch birds go about their daily lives.  Expand that, I actually also love watching nature at work.  I love to watch the trees flower and fruit in the season, I love to watch how animals and birds interact with their environment and I love to watch the effects of the things that I do on it all.  You see, I have grown a garden that is intended to bring the wildlife to me.  A backyard birdwatching haven.  And since the law of attraction is all about enjoying your self, having fun and being who you really are, I get to do all of those things every day, right from my home office here in Cairns, courtesy of my garden!

I have planted trees specifically for the purpose of feeding birds and butterflies and providing a bird friendly habitat. In the main these are native trees, however I have found through my reading that citrus trees and many non-natives work wonderfully as well.  I now tailor my gardening life to the birds that are resident or visitors.  For example I would never prune or trim the Justica’s during spring because all of the honey-eaters that are growing up their young and need as much food as possible.  My garden is a food factory for them.

You will also find in my garden, a couple of watering holes for the birds. Even though it took them a while, they eventually got used to them and now bathe and drink there throughout the day.  This makes it possible for me to be working in my home office and watching the birds come and go as they do.

The habitat it very important because all types of birds seek refuge for nesting and each seems to need something a little different. The sunbird pair need a sheltered place and a rope; the finches need a dense tree with a lookout nearby, the doves need a dense tree with peace and quiet and so on.  Over time, we have created two secret gardens to serve all of these purposes.  Additionally, our elderly terrier does her best to see any marauding cats off the premises!  Even so, cats managed to destroy the nest of a willy wagtail which was a sad loss to all of us here.  We were very excited to have this sweet little bird nesting on our deck.

So if you also love all things nature, and you live in town on an ordinary sized piece of land, you too can do your bit for the various species and create a wildlife refuge and habitat. Next time I will write about our animals and I am very happy to answer questions about how to create you own piece of heaven in your backyard.  In the meantime I am off to feel the joy – happiness really is birdwatching in my backyard.

Backyard Bird Watching

According to the Law of Attraction, life is meant to be fun, filled with enjoyment; a pleasure and for me, and backyard bird watching is all of that. I have built a garden in Cairns that is attractive to birds and butterflies so I get to indulge in backyard bird watching all of the time.

Normally, in my own garden I am watching our sunbird pair, a variety of finches, orioles, doves and honey-eaters as well as an endless array of passing birds. Right now, though I am visiting family in western Queensland, the dry country and enjoying very different species to those at home.  But there is one thing that has not changed.  Each of our families has been adopted by a pair of birds who have taken over a part of our homes to nest and raise their chicks.

In Cairns,  our sunbird pair own our back veranda and come to us for assistance just as they need it.  They have nested twice there and raised countless chicks in our garden before seeing them off to start a life of their own. We watch with avid interest as each new pair of eggs is laid and the chicks hatch, fledge and become independent.  Along the way the parent birds entertain us with their scolding, cajoling and finally their meanness as they send the new young birds off to other territory, they achieve success,  before commencing the whole process again.

Here on the farm, it is a willy wagtail pair who have taken over a part of the downstairs laundry, building their nest on the water pipes there in a very protected area where they are raising their first family of three. Not only do they provide sustenance for the chicks they also contend with a malevolent magpie with a family of his own to feed.  The magpie clearly has his eye on the chicks and even went so far as to go in under the house for a look see.

The willy wagtail parents had other ideas though and through persistence and their combined efforts have seen the magpie off each time that he has arrived. The two small birds swoop and dive the magpie, putting their lives on the line until the magpie is unsettled enough to go away.  This business of raising their chicks is extremely hard work for the parents who are up early, to bed late and on the go all day.

Apart from being entertaining and relaxing, there are life lessons here for anyone who wants to find them. Without trying I have found the following:-

• Keep your eyes peeled for every opportunity – the world around you  abounds with them
• Put a lot of effort into growing and nurturing your young and then give them independence to go their own way
• Be persistent in your efforts to get what you want
• Be prepared to work hard for the time that it takes
• Show no fear for the predator, even if they are bigger than you
• One plus one equals more than two – you need a team to make some things work
• Live like there’s no tomorrow, fly like you know how and enjoy everything that comes your way

Birdwatching Makes Meditation Easy

As I sit in the home office of my personal development home business, I have a magnificent view of a pair of sun birds which are nesting on a rope on our veranda here in Cairns. This pair of sun birds have previously nested in this location and raised several families before their nest fell one night just before Christmas.  What a calamity that was!  We were having a little pre-Christmas celebration when all of a sudden the mother bird began to fly into the ceiling and was in great distress.  It took us a while to realise that something had happened to our birds and we then found that their nest had come away at the top and was hanging upside down.

By a miracle, the baby sun birds had not fallen out so we tied the nest back into place and the next morning found the parents furiously feeding their young and in no time they were fledged and away. With some sadness, we removed their old nest and put in place a good strong piece of twine, hoping that they would return and nest again.  The parent birds stayed in our garden and we lived in hope.

Now they have their new nest, on their own special piece of twine and I am able to watch them as I work.

Great meditation – You bet!! Meditation can be done anywhere that you can lose yourself and open your mind and I sure am enjoying this particular meditation.  I have no doubt that my home business in personal development will benefit as well as well as my mind and health.  And having these little sun birds in our garden and around our home just brings me a whole lot of joy and happiness.