Mid-summer in your garden is an important time for your “locals”. Normally you won’t see many birds apart from the common blackbird and thrushes, sparrows and starlings, grey warblers, tui and bellbirds.   

It’s just a matter of having the right areas to forage for these birds, and extra food is usually not drastically needed to keep everybody in good condition – food aplenty all over the place!   

Just one useful tip for gardeners, though: Silvereyes act a little differently. 

Over the years I have noticed that if you feed them sugar water in summer, they will certainly come back to your garden to lick up all the sweet liquids.   

EVERY DAY!! 



The reason that’s important?    

They quickly learn where you live and where to get free food! They’ll remember that well into the wintertime when nice food is hard to get. The regular visits to your garden are a benefit due to the free pest control that these birds deliver: silvereyes love to pick up aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, and scale insects while they forage at your place.   

Scale lemon before and after the Silvereyes.

I’ve seen this many times and the great benefit for me is that I will never need to spray my plants with insecticides to control the pests most gardeners are chasing!   

Another typical summer feature is the emergence of porina moth chrysalises. This moth is a native of New Zealand. There are a few species that love to eat grasses, especially their roots underground. They are known to go to great heights (think about mountains!) to chew their breakfast, lunch, and dinners from tough and hard grassy plants. Ironically, when settlers started farming with fancy grass species from Europe and elsewhere, the Porina quickly cottoned on to selecting these lovely, edible grasses as food.   



Starlings (and often other bird species) have quickly learned to dig into those wonderful soft lawns full of Perennial Ryegrasses. The reason is simple: our native Porina simply love those ryegrasses and related imports, but they cause damage, and the farmers are not impressed with the way Porina does that damage.   

Birds to the rescue! 



LISTEN ABOVE 

Mid-summer in your garden is an important time for your “locals”. Normally you won’t see many birds apart from the common blackbird and thrushes, sparrows and starlings, grey warblers, tui and bellbirds. &nbsp;&nbsp;
It’s just a matter of having the right areas to forage for these birds, and extra food is usually not drastically needed to keep everybody in good condition – food aplenty all over the place! &nbsp;&nbsp;
Just one useful tip for gardeners, though: Silvereyes act a little differently.&nbsp;
Over the years I have noticed that if you feed them sugar water in summer, they will certainly come back to your garden to lick up all the sweet liquids. &nbsp;&nbsp;
EVERY DAY!!&nbsp;

The reason that’s important? &nbsp; &nbsp;
They quickly learn where you live and where to get free food! They’ll remember that well into the wintertime when nice food is hard to get. The regular visits to your garden are a benefit due to the free pest control that these birds deliver: silvereyes love to pick up aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, and scale insects while they forage at your place. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Scale lemon before and after the Silvereyes.
I’ve seen this many times and the great benefit for me is that I will never need to spray my plants with insecticides to control the pests most gardeners are chasing! &nbsp;&nbsp;
Another typical summer feature is the emergence of porina moth chrysalises. This moth is a native of New Zealand. There are a few species that love to eat grasses, especially their roots underground. They are known to go to great heights (think about mountains!) to chew their breakfast, lunch, and dinners from tough and hard grassy plants. Ironically, when settlers started farming with fancy grass species from Europe and elsewhere, the Porina quickly cottoned on to selecting these lovely, edible grasses as food. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Starlings (and often other bird species) have quickly learned to dig into those wonderful soft lawns full of Perennial Ryegrasses. The reason is simple: our native Porina simply love those ryegrasses and related imports, but they cause damage, and the farmers are not impressed with the way Porina does that damage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Birds to the rescue!&nbsp;

LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB.

News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB. News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Ruud Kleinpaste: Bird behaviour in your garden

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/86d0431d-7ae5-4da0-8df4-b3f701739dcc/transcript