Water first, seed second
A Peninsula garden becomes a bird place the day the water is reliable.
Depth and edge
A dish no deeper than a finger, with a rough stone in it for grip, will serve wrens and honeyeaters. A slightly larger tray on the ground will bring pigeons and magpies. Change the water. Algae and mosquito larvae are not part of the aesthetic.
Two stations
Put water in more than one place so a dominant miner colony cannot hold the only well. One in the open, one near (not inside) a thicket. The shy birds will use the second.
Why seed is a later question
Seed feeders favour the already-successful — pigeons, sometimes rosellas — and can spread disease at the perch. Native grasses left to stand, and a few local shrubs allowed to fruit, feed more species with less drama.
