G'day all,
on 9th November Andy Burton asked,
> Is there evidence that some flowering eucs. / angophoras are better
> bird-attractors than others?
The short answer is yes.
Every tree species produces different amounts of nectar and pollen to
attract different birds/mammals/insects to pollinate its flowers. Plants
also have a variety of flower shape and size, again attracting different
animals. Some plants even use the wind to carry pollen e.g. casurinas.
As birdos, it's handy to know which trees are favoured by birds when in
blossom, these often have larger flowers (but not always), but all
produce lots of nectar, which is what the birds are after. If you know
your local nectar producing trees (often obvious by the noise of birds
fighting over food) and when they flower, this is a great advantage.
At the moment the Silky Oaks are flowering in my local area (lower Blue
Mountains) and these are full of lorrikeets and Noisy Friarbirds. These
trees are actually a Grevillia species, so it's hardly surprising they
are popular.
Other well known bird attracting/nectar producing trees include, Mugga
Ironbark (E. sideroxylon), Swamp Mahogany (E. robusta), and Lemon
scented gum (E. citriodora). This list is in no way exclusive as many
other trees a great bird attractors. These are just the ones I look for
in my local area. They are also what I've planted to attract birds to my
garden.
Finally, I have also found Angophora costata blossom to be of little
value to birds, it seems to attract insects. They do, however, produce
good hollows, I've even seen Powerful Owls nesting in them.
Graham Turner.
Blaxland, Lower Blue Mountains
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