Every time I go to the mainland I notice lots of bird houses in gardens but I rarely see them in Hawaii. I am wondering if anybody here from Hawaii has had experince with them. Do birds nest in them? What birds? Is there a certain size door hole needed in the house or does it need to face a certain way? Right now I have two bird baths in our yard and I really enjoy watching the birds having fun in them. I think bird houses would be a nice way to go now.....but not sure how to do it. Aloha
Bird Houses in Hawaii
Hi Stella,
I’m just a dumb Aussie but here in Australia Birds don’t nest in man made boxes,.
Hawaii seems to have the same type of temperatures as we do.
Which means Birds don’t migrate so much.
Native birds have been breeding for thousands of years.
I’m sure they don’t need our help to build nests. ^_^
If I build a Box, A Possum will move into it in just a few days.
Those are just my thoughts. Ginger
I collect bird houses to decorate but sometimes I see nest in some of them. Belle
Having bird baths and fruit trees in ones yard seems to me the best way to invite birds to one's yard. The birds will regularly make their own nests.
If you are able to get birds to nest in a box, it will likely eventually become infested with bird mites.
mmmmm.......well it looks like it is best if I just watch the little rice birds nesting in my lemon trees and let them do their thing. thanks for sharing thoughts on the topic everybody. Ginger.....I think that is some states of the US they encourage bird houses because of loss of nesting habitat......replace hollow trees I guess. By the way.....I am a long time Hawaii resident but also I am a kiwi. As for fruit for the birds.....I already have to share my guavas and surinam cherries with the bulbuls.
Aloha Stellamarina,
Now that you mention it, I have never seen any bird houses in gardens around here...I don't remember even seeing them for sale anywhere on Maui either.
The birds sure do make pigs of themselves on the fruit in the garden - lucky I have plenty to share! We have a flock of lovebirds that visit everyday and someone was telling me that they were eating the Mango blossom in their garden - I haven't seen them doing that in my garden, anybody know if they do eat the mango blossom, it seems strange...
Here in Florida I have many birdhouses hanging in trees around my yard, mainly for decoration. The only houses that the birds actually use are two Purple Martin Houses in the backyard that Wrens build nests in every year ... but Wrens will build nests most anywhere ... there's a pair digging around in a couple of hanging baskets on the front porch every day lately, apparently trying to decide if one will be to their liking. The Wrens have constructed a nest in a hanging basket on the front porch off and on over the years, it's a lot of fun to watch the parents fly back and forth feeding the babies, and then watching the little ones fledge.
Speaking of habitat loss ... the power company hired tree cutters to trim trees away from the electrical lines last week. They butchered an entire line of trees just outside our property line ... there were at least 5 or 6 birds nests in those trees and I know the majority were active nests, probably with eggs or young birds ... all destroyed. :(
Braveheartsmom: Some Parrots do indeed eat blossoms so it wouldn't surprise me if your neighbors have noticed the Love Birds eating the Mango flowers! Scroll down this page to read about their diet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebird
It's not so much that they eat the mango blossom, it's the nectar they're after. Many parrots are 'blossom feeders', as also are Flying Foxes. A lot of flowers are destroyed in the process. Nectar feeders will normally eat fruit as well.
Such interesting info on the lovebirds, thank you both! Tons of stuff I didn't know. I really enjoy watching them in the mornings when they fly in for their morning feed. They are getting quite tame, and in fact scream at my husband when he goes out in the morning to fetch the paper in order to hurry him up to fill the feeders. A couple of them seem to have taken ownership and sit on the top of the feeders all day even long after the seed is all gone. There is constant squabbling between the lovebirds and the java sparrows and I am not sure who is getting the upper hand. This has been such a cool thing for a kid from England who never thought they would be somewhere that had wild lovebirds in their back garden!
Aloha,
Jenn
Jenn, the antics of parrots is unlimited. They are such amazing characters but they can really get themselves into trouble.
Last mango season I found a Northern Rosella on the ground at home in a very poor state. I caught it easily but it didn't have any signs of injury or bruising. The road in front of my place is dirt and doesn't really allow for fast traffic which might injure wildlife. So the parrot's state was a bit of a mystery.
I took it off to the wildlife park where they have a vet (I'd previously taken sick/injured wildlife there). The vet looked over the parrot and then said it was drunk. A lot of mangos get part eaten by the birds/flying foxes and fall to the ground where they start to ferment. Looks like this bird went for some fallen fruit rather than fresh. So the vet said she'd keep it under observation until it got over its hangover.
LOL! Poor little bird with a hangover! I take it that it recovered with some good strong coffee - or did you give it a hair of the dog that bit it!
I left that up to the expert - the vet. I didn't check back. The vet said it was a relatively common occurence during mango season. The trouble is a staggering drunken parrot is an easy target for predators like pythons, goannas, dingos and feral cats.