In the last week a bird has been building it's nest on a plant in our atrium. Thanks to this site I've identified it as a Lewins Honeyeater. Twice during nest-building it flew into the house as it got spooked by me watering the plants in the atrium. I was able to catch it & set it free, hoping it would continue to come back. Today there are 2 eggs in the nest.. yipee! Question is, if I continue to care for my plants whilst it's hatching the eggs, will I scare it off permanently?
Hi Sweetsusi
Is the atrium is not open to the sky? If not, it seems your bird is nesting inside your house, effectively.
Not sure how that will pan out, as when feeding chicks, they will need to be coming and going every 10 minutes.
Re watering, just try to not water over the top of the nest.
Best wishes for your joint venture with the birds.
I once had swallows nesting in my bathroom, while the house was being renovated. They came and went through an open window, above the door. They did get the chicks to fledging stage. Once I moved in properly, they have not returned in subsequent years.
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Hi Denis,
Thanks for your response. The atrium is not a conventional one in that the roof is clear sun tuff & it has a gate at the side which is how the bird(s) are coming & going. It's also accessed from a door within the house which is how it came in when spooked.
Thanks for the every 10 mins warning when the chicks have hatched. I'll be sure to give them leeway.
Cheers, Susi
Hi all,
Just wanted to say that I love hearing about people's concerns for nesting birds. It reminds me that there are some really lovely people out there. There've been a few mentions of nesting pardalotes, and I love the nice way in which people warn others of the danger of accidentally scaring the parents away.
I always visit this forum when I need to be reminded of all the good people who care about our lovely wildlife.
Andy.
Hi there,
An update on my adopted Lewins Honeyeaters...
As mentioned previously, the birds were flying in & out via the sidegate. Little did I know that a canny Butcherbird had observed this & whilst the birds were out & the nest unattended - wily Butcherbird flew in. Luckily we saw it & chased it away, but it didn't take no for an answer. It made another 3 attempts before we found a way to refuse it entry. We attached shadecloth to the gate whislt the Honeyeater was on the nest. The atrium has several small holes just under the roofline big enough for the Honeteater to get through. It did cause some confusion when time came to "swap shifts" but these smart little birds figured it out. Phew!
Has anyone out there lost 'adopted bird's' eggs to Butcherbirds?
I have lost 2 canary's to butcherbirds.
When I was living in Kalgoorlie I brought a canary. I put it into its cage once I got home and hung it out the back. Within about 10 mins a butcherbird had killed it and tried to rip it through the bars.
About a week later I brought another one. While I didn't put it outside straight away, the outdoor sunshine beckoned and I put it just outside the flyscreen door thinking a butcherbird wouldn't be so brazen. I also hadnt seen one around for weeks. This time it took about half an hour, but the poor canary was dead.
I have seen butcherbirds around where I live now, Toodyay, once, so NO caged birds for me. Besides I love my wild Splendid Wrens anyway.
It's probably too late now, but I would advise that in this situation you do not attempt to keep yourself scarce. In fact, the more often you are in the area while the birds are there the better - they will get used to you in time and will realise you are not a threat.
As for the butcher birds - they are beautiful animals, but it is a bit upsetting to see them kill lizards or small birds. :-(
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia