New Zealands endemic Tui with pollen on its head sitting in a Flax plant — With just a little support New Zealand gardens can flourish with native birdlife.

7 ways to help NZ birds thrive.

Encouraging our special endemic and native birds is really important to help the natural balance of our unique land. So take a look at our top tips for supporting these magical birds, and remember it’s a win-win as you’ll get the joy of watching your new friends kohabit alongside you.

What do native and endemic NZ birds eat?

Before you start planning any changes to your garden it's important to know what our native and endemic garden birds eat, you may be surprised. Take a look below...

What does native, endemic and introduced mean for birds in New Zealand

What NZ native and endemic birds eat.jpg

Once you know what our native and endemic birds diet consists of you can start to make changes to your garden. Below are 7 great tips for attracting more birds to your backyard.

New Zealands endemic Tui hanging in a Kowhai tree

1. Planting for native NZ birds.

Our nectar-eating birds like the Tui (tūī), Silvereye (Tauhou) and Bellbirds (Korimako) predominately feed off nectar all year round. They also will travel for a good feed so even if they don’t live nearby planting for them will help ensure they become regular visitors. They need plants that produce lots of flowers and fruit, even just adding one or two plants to your backyard will make a difference.

New Zealand has an abundance of plant life that will support our birds. Try the beautiful yellow kōwhai tree, flax (harakeke) or Northern rata to supply nectar and cabbage trees (tī kōuka) and māpou to provide fruit. And plant for winter too, pūriri and kohekohe provide food all year round.

For a full list of plants that produce nectar and fruit visit the DOC website.

Red Kohab Bird Nectar in a glass feeder hanging in a garden

2. How to make homemade bird nectar.

If you are unable to plant nectar-producing plants don’t worry you can easily put out a homemade alternative, sugar water. Simply mix 1:8 sugar:water and put it in a bowl or nectar feeder. Once the birds find it they will gobble it up and come back regularly for more. It’s also good to put this out in the winter when natural nectar-producing plants are less abundant. Supplementing their natural diet like this can help them thrive.

You can also buy a nectar mix. Kohab Bird Nectar has the added benefit of beetroot. The beetroot gives our bird nectar its beautiful red colouring that attracts birds making it easier for them to find and enjoy. In addition, beetroot is rich in nitrates, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to help the birds thrive and maintain their energetic lifestyle.

New Zealands Endemic Sacred Kingfisher with an ant in its beak

3. Support NZ birds with insect life.

Several of our birds only eat insects such as our iconic Fantail and the Grey Warbler. But others such as the Sacred Kingfisher and Morepork eat them as part of a mixed diet of insects and small meat providing animals. And Tui, Bellbirds, Silvereye eat them from time to time to get an extra hit of protein, especially during the more demanding times of life such as winter and breeding season.

A good way to support insect life is to do nothing – and it's not often doing nothing is best! But letting your gardens natural leaf litter settle provides a great natural environment for insect life to thrive which in turn provides a natural food source for the birds. And if you can’t bear to leave the leaves to pile up simply move them into one pile as this will also help.

If you have a worm farm leaving the lid open for a short time each day will give the birds a quick and easy bite. It won’t take long before they are watching for you to come out each day.

4. Planting to support insects in your garden.

Another way to provide insects for the birds is to grown plants that attract and support insect life. This will help support greater biodiversity in your garden. It's easier than it sounds as many garden centres offer lots of advice as well as sell insect-friendly seed mixes and plants. You will also benefit from a bright and colourful garden full of flowers.

5. NZ birds need a source of freshwater.

Birds need clean fresh water to drink and bathe in. Add a birdbath to your garden and keep it clean and filled. It doesn’t have to be an expensive designer one, just a large pot of water somewhere safe will do. Before long you will see lots of birds dropping by for a drink or a quick wash. Fantails, in particular, love a birdbath and it's lots of fun watching them splash about.

6. Ensure your back garden is predatory free

As you will be aware New Zealand birdlife has been decimated over the years by the introduced predators. To support birdlife in your backyard you should ensure it’s safe from predators.

Predator Free 2050 is an audacious plan and needs everyone to do their bit. And it doesn’t have to be hard to get involved. Did you know that if there was a predator trap in every fifth garden in NZ it would have such an impact that wildlife would flourish?

To find out how you can get involved visit Predatorfreenz.org. You could even join a local predator free group, there are groups set up all over the country. Local groups can help give you help and advice on how to manage predation in your area.

A grey fully domestic cat with a dead bird in its beak

7. Reduce your cats kill rate.

Even the sweetest cat can be a huge problem to our natural birdlife. Cats are natural predators and are our native birds are no match for them. They also hunt even when they aren’t hungry so a capable cat can make multiply kills each day. If you have a cat then be a responsible cat owner.

The best practice is to keep your cat inside all day, but if this isn't for you then keeping them in during nighttime and early morning. This will have a big impact on their kill rate as these are the times they kill the most. And feed them a high protein meat diet, this is said to reduce their desire to kill.

Put a collar and bell on your cat – a cat with a bell will kill 50% less wildlife. Kohab has a range of cat bells that can be added to a collar, you may find some cats need more than one!

I hope this list has helped you identify ways you can support native and endemic NZ birds in your garden. Supporting our amazing national birdlife is really rewarding and of course, it's a win-win as you get to enjoy kohabiting with more birds. We would love to hear how you get on, simply let us know at info@kohab.nz