Habitat for woodland birds

More than 700 bird species live in Australia, and around one-third of them depend on woodland. Since European settlement, much of NSW’s woodland has been cleared, fragmented, or simplified. This loss of complex habitat means fewer places for many birds to thrive.

BirdLife Australia has identified 51 woodland bird species in severe decline across eastern Australia. This includes the critically endangered Swift Parrot and Regent Honeyeater. Around 35 to 40 of these species live in NSW.

Why woodland birds are important

Woodland birds are a key part of healthy farm ecosystems. They help control insects, pollinate plants, and indicate good land management. When bird numbers drop, it’s a sign that the land is losing resilience.

Ecosystems with rich birdlife bounce back faster from drought, pest outbreaks, fire, and other pressures. By managing your farm with biodiversity in mind, you can support both productivity and the environment.

Supporting woodland birds on farms

Healthy woodland provides a mix of features that birds rely on for food, nesting, and shelter. Even small actions on farms and private land can make a big difference.

Woodland birds need:

• A mix of tall trees, shrubs, and groundcover.
• Safe nesting places such as tree hollows or dense shrubs.
• Fallen timber and leaf litter for foraging and protection.

Your farm management actions can contribute to woodland and species recovery.

What you can do to encourage woodland birds on your property:

• Protect remnant vegetation from livestock.
• Retain dead wood, fallen timber, and hollow-bearing trees.
• Plant around 60% shrubs, ideally dense and prickly, to support small birds.
• Use wildlife friendly fencing with the top 1 or 2 wires of fence plain to stop fauna entanglement.
• Control weeds such as hawthorn and blackberry.
• Manage feral animals to support natural regeneration.

Download a printable woodland bird connectivity design guide (PDF 623.88KB).

Manage your property for bird life

Looking after existing patches of native bush is one of the most important things you can do. Limit grazing pressure, keep fallen timber and leaf litter in place, and encourage shrubs and groundcover to return.

Letting the bush be a little ‘messy’ helps create more niches for different birds to nest, feed, and move about. It also discourages larger, aggressive species like noisy miners, currawongs, and ravens that favour open areas.

Old paddock trees are also vital. They provide food, nesting hollows, shelter for stock, and shade. Keep them standing wherever possible.

Re-establishing native trees and shrubs across paddocks helps reconnect bush patches. This gives birds safe corridors to move and breed. Young birds dispersing from nests need connected habitats to survive.

Planting for woodland bird habitat

Revegetation with native species can help restore bird habitat.

Key design elements include:

• Connect to large (>10 ha) remnants, where possible.
• Work on gaps between vegetation or landscape assets of approximately 50m.
• Make linear plantings at least 30m wide and use an existing fence to save on materials.
• Keep gaps along corridors less than 10m wide to allow small animals to cross.
• Fence along waterways for enhanced biodiversity and paddock sub-division.
• Protect mature living and dead paddock trees within a steppingstone planting.
• Larger is always better whether protecting a remnant or revegetating.

Read more about revegetation for wildlife corridors. 

Plant species for woodland bird habitat

Wattles and native shrubs are the powerhouse plants for small bird habitat. Use them to increase the structural diversity of your vegetation.

• Avoid overcrowded eucalypt plantings (less than 5 m apart), thin them where needed. You should seek advice before thinning native vegetation.
• Aim for at least 40% shrubs in your mix.
• Choose local native species suited to your soil and climate.

If you have a funded planting project, contact your funding organisation before changing plant densities.

Read more about choosing suitable native species.

Birds and their nests

Birds use a variety of nesting styles depending on their species and habitat. Understanding these can help you identify nesting areas on your property and avoid disturbance.

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

Cup nests

Small, delicate nests made from bark, fibres, and spider webs. Commonly built by robins, fantails, and flycatchers. Some hang below branches or are camouflaged with moss or lichen.

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

Dome nests

Another common nest structure is the domed nest, which is spherical or bottle-shaped with an entrance on the side. Birds like finches, thornbills, and fairy-wrens build these kinds of nests, and they can be commonly found in dense shrubs. Yellow-rumped thornbills build domed nests with a false cup nest on top of the dome.

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

Mud nests

Mud is an excellent material for constructing nests, and several birds use it to build different shaped nests.

Magpie larks, white-winged choughs, and apostlebirds build large mud bowls. Welcome swallows build mud nests under rocky overhangs where they can be kept dry. It’s now most common to see these nests under the eaves of buildings, under bridges, or in road-culverts.

Fairy-martins build bottle nests from mud, these are often seen under built overhangs. Fairy-martins nest in colonies and often attach their nests to other nests. They sometimes form large elaborate structures with dozens of nests. Other species, such as pardalotes, sparrows, or even microbats, sometimes use these nests when they are not in use by fairy-martins.

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

Waterbirds

Waterbirds sometimes build nests on land, many duck species nest in tree hollows. Other waterbirds build nests on freshwater islands or in emergent water vegetation on the fringes of waterbodies. Australasian grebes build floating nests out of buoyant vegetation which they then anchor to the bottom.

crop_originalImage creditkeyboard_arrow_up

Nest or not?

Not all structures made by birds are true nests. Bowerbirds build intricate display bowers to attract mates, while white-browed babblers make daytime roosts. Ringtails also build dreys that can look like bird nests.

Using someone else’s nest

Some birds, like cuckoos, lay their eggs in other species’ nests. This is a strategy known as brood parasitism. Examples include the eastern koel, channel-billed cuckoo, pallid cuckoo, and bronze-cuckoos.

Nesting success

Nest design affects breeding success. Cup and dome nests can be vulnerable to predators in some landscapes. Research linked to Sustainable Farms has shown that replanted areas on farms support strong nesting success, similar to native remnants.

Common nest predators include ravens, magpies, and sometimes smaller birds like honeyeaters. Birds adapt by raising multiple clutches in a season or living longer to increase their chances of fledging young.

Tree hollows

Tree hollows are one of the most critical nesting resources in agricultural landscapes. More than 300 species of Australian vertebrates rely on hollows for breeding and shelter. This includes about 70 native bird species.

Old trees are the main source of hollows, but these are declining due to clearing, fire, and dieback. While nest boxes can provide temporary alternatives, they must be designed for the right species. Poorly matched boxes may attract pest birds like starlings or mynas.

Where possible, focus on protecting and regenerating large old trees. These trees are irreplaceable habitat features. Constructing augmented hollows and nest boxes can help in areas without old growth.

Ongoing work to protect woodland birds