Your noisy neighbours are going to be getting even noisier this winter.
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Noisy Miners do most of their breeding from June to December so their noise levels are going to increase as they compete for mates and protect their territories. Not to worry though, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has some helpful advice to keep you sane this winter.
Australia’s Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife runs an environmental education program called Backyard Buddies. Visit www.backyardbuddies.net.au to download a free fact sheet about Noisy Miners, and sign up to receive a free monthly e-newsletter, B-mail. It lets you know what animals you’re likely to see at that time of year and gives you tips on how make your backyard safe and inviting for them. Noisy Miners featured in June B-mail.
“Our native Noisy Miners are not everyone’s favourite neighbours and often with good reason,” said Ms Susanna Bradshaw, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. “These birds get their name from their loud, repetitive calls,” said Ms Bradshaw, “but there are also other problems brought on by the Noisy Miner.”
“When a Noisy Miner family sets up home, they become very territorial and will often mob other animals such as cats and dogs and all sorts of native wildlife. This behaviour unfortunately drives away many of these animals, such as small wrens and Ringtail Possums.”
“While these birds are sometimes in the bad books, quite often they get blamed for the naughty deeds done by the similarly named Common Myna or Indian Myna. Common Mynas are a much bigger problem for Australia’s wildlife because they are non-native, very aggressive and have a rapidly expanding population.”
“Common Mynas look quite similar to Noisy Miners in their size and shape but their colouring is very different. Common Mynas have dark brown feathers whereas the Noisy Miners are mainly grey,” Ms Bradshaw said.
Tips for Living with Noisy Miners
• As Noisy Miners prefer open spaces you can discourage them and encourage small birds instead by building up an understorey in your garden. Plant dense clumps of local native shrubs, grasses and thick bushes including spikey plants, so that little birds and other animals have somewhere to hide from miners.
• Nesting boxes for possums and native birds are a great way to help encourage other animals back into your garden.
• Noisy Miners are predominantly honeyeaters; they love the big, showy flowers of banksias and grevilleas. Try to limit the amount of big nectar producing plants in your backyard and instead maintain a diverse range of Australian plants. This will benefit a wider range of native species.
• Make sure not to feed miners as they already get plenty of food and it will only encourage them to fight for your backyard.
“Despite their reputation, there are plenty of things to admire the Noisy Miners for. In their communal groups of 5-20 birds, very unusually, the males will hang around and help with the child rearing,” Ms Bradshaw said.
“The baby Noisy Miners are very fluffy and cute and you’ll be seeing them cuddling up to each other as the weather gets colder. These Noisy Miners are also very helpful in the garden by eating insects in your veggie garden,” said Ms Bradshaw.
“Just remember that Noisy Miners are not the bad guys, they’re just great adapters making the most of our urban spaces. If we understand them better and make our backyards friendlier to a wider range of native animals, life with these buddies will be a lot more relaxing, and a lot less noisy.”
Interesting facts about Noisy Miners
• A Noisy Miner has a very big and varied diet. They are technically honeyeaters but will also eat seeds, insects, frogs, lizards and fruit. Their varied diet helps them to survive when some of their food sources are low.
• The chicks are spoilt rotten by their families—sometimes receiving up to 50 visits to the nest in one hour!
• You might see a Noisy Miner pluck fur or hair from animals. This isn’t a prank they like to play, they’re just collecting soft material to line their nests.
“You can usually tell exactly what the Noisy Miners are communicating to their group. If they feel there is a threat nearby, you will hear a very loud, quick ‘pwee, pwee, pwee’. When they’re relaxed, their calls are much softer and when the babies want food, they make a high pitched call,” Ms Bradshaw said.
Now that you know some of their behaviours, try observing these birds in your garden or park. Listen out for their different calls and watch to see whether they are defending a nest or feeding site. If carefully managed, these birds can become less of a nuisance and more of a helpful Backyard Buddy.