ATTRACTING BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE TO YOUR GARDEN IN NEW ZEALAND
Gordon Ell
New Holland,$45, hbk
"By providing for nature even in the small garden, it is possible to attract birds, butterflies and other creatures," Gordon Ell writes in the introduction to Attracting Birds and Other Wildlife to Your Garden in New Zealand.
He goes on to point out that as well as adding interest to even a small town garden, attracting wildlife aids conservation.
A former national president of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Ell advocates making the New Zealand garden a wildlife sanctuary, which is possible, he maintains, even where "a garden must be kept neat for the good of the neighbourhood."
He begins with birds, listing potential residents, common visitors and occasional visitors, as well as including a list of escaped cage birds, most of which are single escapees that fail to acclimatise.
Dunedin residents, for whom redpolls are an increasingly common sight most of the year, may be amused by Ell's comment that these introduced birds are "not generally found in towns".
Ell lists ways of attracting birds, through the provision of appropriate food and shelter, as well as water. There are plans given for a simple bird table and feeding shelf, nesting boxes and a photo of guttering used as a sugar-water trough for tui.
Much has been written about using native trees and shrubs to attract birds to the garden and as well as a wide-ranging selection, Ell includes a section on introduced plants. For example, waxeyes and tui are attracted to abutilons; kereru graze tree lupins and tree lucerne; and bellbirds feed on Banksia species.
The chapter on identifying garden visitors showcases some of the author's excellent photographs, as well as giving useful information about each species and how to attract them to the garden. The only omission is the lack of a guide to each bird's size.
Lizards, butterflies, moths, spiders, worms and frogs are well-covered in the second half of the book, which includes helpful notes on breeding butterflies and on raising frogs.
Less welcome pest animals, such as possums, rats and mustelids (weasel family), are not ignored and Ell also advocates responsible cat ownership to reduce felines' impact on birdlife.
Attracting Birds and Other Wildlife to Your Garden in New Zealand concludes with a chapter on the natural garden that maximises its attraction to birds and insects without necessarily becoming a total wilderness. It rounds off a most satisfactory book.
- Gillian Vine is a Dunedin writer on gardens and gardening.
