Love Australian plants, thought they were the only good ones for our birds; however, I also love some bulbs and was thrilled to notice an Eastern Spinebill feeding from lachenalias - tube flowers in reds, oranges and yellows. Have also seen the birds on a blood-lily (haemanthus) bloom.
It's certainly lovely to see Eastern Spinebills feeding, Kelyn. They're a great sight.
You may not be aware that while that Eastern Spinebill was feeding from the non-natives it wasn't going about its task of pollination of indigenous flowers. This means there's less viable seed produced by indigenous vegetation which, in turn, means the integrity of the natural Australian vegetation declines. The consequence of this is that Australia's biodiversity suffers & we can ill afford that given all the damage we've done to it.
Incidentally, this is another good reason for not artificially feeding native birds. Better to provide them with natural tucker via the indigenous vegetation to which they've been adapted over aeons.
Hi Woko. We live near the edge of a town, not far from a creek. Farmland surrounds us, and there's a small native bush park nearby. The Easterns that visit our garden flit between it and the half-hectare garden across the road - and goodness knows where else.
Apart from two 60-year-old birches, our smaller backyard comprises all Australian plants - over 50% South Australian - so the Spinebills have quite a variety of blooms to investigate. :)
Dizz