Who doesn’t love to watch the antics of chirpy lorikeets in the garden?
Where I live, I’m fortunate to have lots of lorikeets visiting my garden as well as king parrots and wattle birds.
I’ve even had visits from black cockatoos who were happy to munch on the seeds of my hakea.
If you want to also enjoy this birdlife in your garden, here’s how to attract lorikeets to your own sanctuary.
Fill your garden with natives
One of the best ways to attract lorikeets to your garden is to fill it with the plants that they love. Lorikeets are nectar eaters but I’ve also seen them happily feasting on fruits.
Think about growing a variety of different native flowering shrubs and trees like grevilleas, Callistemon, melaleucas, correas, eucalypts and banksias.
If you choose your plants carefully, you can plan it so that there’s always something flowering in your garden all year round.
Also, consider plants that have berries such as lilly pillies. And, if you’re growing fruit trees such as pears, plums, nectarines, apples, peaches, cherries and figs, be prepared to share the harvest with the local lorikeet population.
Lorikeets will also hone in on your strawberry patch and your grape vines.
Provide the lorikeets with water
Another thing that will attract native birds such as lorikeets to your garden is a good water source.
Consider installing a bird bath in your garden. You can even go all out and put one in the front yard and one in the back.
Ensure that you refill this constantly and keep the water nice and clean.
Install a feeding table and fill it with fresh fruits
There are times through the year when your fruit trees will be bare and the flowers may not be plentiful.
At times like these, you can help the local lorikeet population by installing a feeding table and filling it with fresh fruits that you’ve purchased at a local farmer’s market.
There are plenty of fruits that lorikeets will happily devour. These include apples, grapes, pawpaw, melons, bananas, lychees, mangoes and all types of stone fruits.
Even orange-coloured vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots and sweet potatoes can be offered to the lorikeets. Just make sure you cut these up to make it easier for the birds.
However, it’s recommended that you don’t put out food every day for the birds as this will stop them from foraging on their own.
Also, ensure that you keep the feeding area nice and clean and toss any excess fruit into the compost before it has a chance to rot.
Avoid feeding unnatural foods such as breads as these are not good for the birds. Lorikeets should also not be given seeds as, unlike larger parrots, their beaks aren’t designed for hard foods.
Also, avoid giving the birds sugar water or honey as this can make them sick. Plus, it will stop them from searching out other, more healthy foods.
Don’t remove older trees that may have nesting hollows
Lorikeets commonly nest in the hollows of old trees. Therefore, if you want to keep them around and watch their babies grow up, avoid removing older trees that may have suitable nesting hollows.
If you don’t have any old trees in your garden that may have suitable hollows, consider investing in a nesting box or two. You can usually purchase these at markets or check out the local men’s shed in your area.
Hang the nesting box high up in a tall tree and you might be lucky to find a pair of lorikeets taking up residence.
FAQ
What is a rainbow lorikeet’s favourite tree?
For nesting and roosting, rainbow lorikeets prefer tall native trees such as eucalypts, paperbarks and tea trees. For feeding, rainbow lorikeets are particularly fond of grevilleas.
Where do lorikeets sleep at night?
At night, lorikeets will sleep deep within the branches of tall gum trees or other similar trees that offer protection from predators such as owls.