Red-collared Lorikeets are common birds around Broome and are often seen racing across the blue sky calling as they go. They can be found at various locations in the evening as they come to roost in large numbers and often appear “drunk” when they consume too much nectar! Such is the life of a tropical bird! A good way to attract any native species to your garden is to have native trees and that is what we planted when we first moved into our home in Broome. Recently our native Melaleuca has been flowering profusely and it has delighted the Red-collared Lorikeets no end. The flowers are green and attract a lot of species of honeyeaters to the garden. The Red-collared Lorikeets fly in and feast on the nectar and thankfully we have not had any “drunk” behaviour in our garden so far! If you want to see what happens then just type “drunken lorikeet” into a search engine for some further information!

Our recent Red-collared Lorikeet visitors have been enjoying our native trees and even cooperated for some photos recently!

Red-collared Lorikeet

Red-collared Lorikeet in the flowering melaleuca

The Red-collared Lorikeets were also attracted the neighbouring native tree, which is a member of the jigal family and they appeared to be nibbling from the back of the leaves. The “red collar” is clearly visible in the photos below. The first just shows how a “high-vis” tail is not necessarily highly visible! Maybe that’s why “high-vis” tends to be luminous yellow and luminous orange and not luminous green!

Red-collared Lorikeet (6)

Red-collared Lorikeet (5)

Red-collared Lorikeet (4)

Red-collared Lorikeet (3)

Red-collared Lorikeet (9)
Red-collared Lorikeet (8)

It suddenly noticed me!

Red-collared Lorikeet (7)

Red-collared Lorikeet

Neighbouring Red-collared Lorikeets realised there was an intruder in the area and they promptly left our garden for the time being and let other species come and feast on the nectar!

Red-collared Lorikeets

Red-collared Lorikeets

It is always beneficial to have native plants in your garden if you want to attract native birds!

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!