There are two local birds which feed mostly on mistletoe berries.
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One is the mistletoebird, and the other is the painted honeyeater.
The mistletoebird is quite common locally, but is more numerous and obvious at this time of the year when the berries of the box mistletoe are ripening.
The male is a stunning little bird with a red chest, glossy blue-black back, and pink under the tail.
The female is grey, with the same pink under the tail. They are very small, only 10 or 11cm long. Their small size, quick movements and leafy habitat makes them difficult to observe, but they sometimes perch on bare branches for a short while before dashing off.
The painted honeyeater is scarcer. It too is small, quick and hard to see. Black above, white below, with a splash of yellow in its wing, it measures 16cm, about the size of a white-naped honeyeater.
Both species feed mostly on ripe mistletoe berries. They hunt for insects when feeding their chicks. Both of them excrete the sticky mistletoe seeds, many of which fall on living eucalypt branches, where they sprout and grow.
The painted honeyeater departs from here in January and returns when the mistletoe berries start in September or October.
The mistletoebird is around all year, but it is scarcer from mid-autumn to early spring.
NATURE EVENTS
Both the annual Bird Walk at Lake Wendouree and the Native Plant Show at the Botanical Gardens take place this weekend.
The bird walk starts at 9am on Sunday, October 28 near the cannons at Pipers restaurant on the edge of Lake Wendouree, opposite the Botanical Gardens.
This easy walk will be led by members of BirdLife Ballarat and will cover the western shore. Anyone interested in birds is welcome and there is no charge.
Thirty or more different species of birds can be expected. Binoculars are useful, but not necessary to enjoy the birds.
The annual spring native plant show takes place in the Robert Clark Centre in the Botanical Gardens.
Saturday and Sunday’s display features native plants growing in the gardens of members of the Ballarat group of the Australian Plants Society. Named specimens of grevilleas, mint-bushes, wax-flowers and more attractive spring-flowering native plants will be displayed.
There is a $5 entry fee for this show, with complimentary tea and coffee. It is open from 10am-4.30pm. Group members will be on hand to discuss the exhibits and answer questions. There will be plants for sale.
