Going native

Attracting native birds into your garden may be as easy as planting a few specific tree species, adding a bird bath, and providing the right food.

Tui, fantails, kererū, and even kingfishers will visit regularly if garden conditions are right. Many native bird species face extinction, or are already extinct. As urban jungles increase and buildings replace trees, you can make up for the losses by creating your own bird sanctuary at home. Here are some ideas:

Make a bird feeder
A sugar water feeder is a great bird magnet. Using a bowl or an inverted bottle (somewhere high away from cats) will have the birds visiting before you know it. Just dissolve half a cup of sugar in about four cups of water, but don’t make it any stronger than that or you risk attracting wasps or getting the birds drunk. Be aware that some foods are not good for our native birds.

Peanuts and walnuts may contain fungal toxins called aflatoxins. In low doses these can affect fertility and immunity and in high doses can cause liver and kidney failure. Sunflower seeds can cause obesity and feather loss. Bread is highly processed and a bird’s digestive system is not designed to digest it. It can result in impaction in the intestines, dehydration and ultimately death.
According to Zealandia, you should avoid: honey water, bread, corn, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, junk food, too much of anything, and mouldy food.

Encourage insects
Many birds, such as pīwakawaka (fantail), eat insects. A good layer of mulch or leaf litter on the garden will encourage insects, and birds are a natural way of keeping them under control. Ruru (morepork) and kōtare (kingfisher) eat insects as well as mice.

Add a birdbath
Many birds will use a bird bath if there’s one available, especially in summer. Watching them splash about can be very entertaining. Make your own or buy one from your garden centre.
Ensure that it is not accessible to cats, but still easy enough to get to for cleaning and refilling. Rinse and a scrub regularly to keep the water fresh and the birds happy.

Plant for the birds

Plant favoured bird foods such as flax and kōwhai, but not too close to the house because reflections on glass can confuse birds and cause them to fly into your windows. Tui love to feast on flax flowers, and it’s easy to grow. Some native birds have wisely become wary of feeding on the ground. Think about growing ground creepers such as Fuchsia procumbens in a hanging basket, which with red berries hanging down are beautiful and attractive for birds. Climbing plants like Metrosideros carminea (crimson rata) and Passiflora tetrandra (NZ passionfruit) are also good to encourage to climb the wall of a garage, in a tree or across other garden structures.

• Source: Greenpeace

Native trees, shrubs and climbers that look attractive in the garden and also provide shelter and food for wildlife include:

Cabbage trees
Coprosma species
Griselinia
Fuchsia
Rewa Rewa
Pittosporums
Kōwhai
Five fingers
Wineberry
Mānuka
New Zealand flaxes
Kākābeak
Corokia
Hebes
New Zealand irises