Issue No. 23, November 1, 1999

Plants That Attract Birds
UW-Extension Wildlife Specialist Scott R. Craven

Abundant and diverse songbird populations are the primary goal of most backyard wildlife gardeners. There are many ways to enhance bird populations including feeders, water gardens and bird baths, bird houses and nest platforms, protection of native/natural vegetation and planting and landscaping with birds in mind.

Now is a good time to plan for the spring planting season. To attract birds, focus on selecting materials that will enhance bird habitat by providing shelter for nest sites, escape from predators, protection from the elements and seasonal food resources. By utilizing bird-friendly trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and a well-conceived landscape plan, one can meet all needs in terms of shade, privacy, color etc. while providing a good habitat. The result will be an attractive yard with many birds to enjoy.

Spruce, arborvitae, junipers, yew, yellow pines and firs provide excellent nesting cover and wind shelter. Conifers also make excellent windbreaks for bird-feeders in winter.

The different serviceberries or juneberries make attractive small trees or shrubs. They bear abundant edible fruit in early summer and many berry-eating birds like them.

Most dogwoods adapt well to home grounds and many bird species eat their fruits. The gray dogwood bears an abundant crop of white fruits. The redosier dogwood has bright red twigs in the winter, and its white fruit attracts birds.

Hawthorns and thornapples are some of the best small trees for landscaping with one-story houses. Fruits of the cockspur hawthorn and Washington hawthorn are retained all winter long. These trees provide excellent nesting cover for many songbirds and are quite cat-proof due to their thorny stems.

The American elder or common elderberry is a large shrub that bears fruit very heavily and is a good shrub for large plantings. It has large white flowers in spring, followed by purple to black fruit in late summer.

For late fall and winter food, the American cranberrybush viburnum and the nannyberry viburnum may be useful. The American cranberrybush has beautiful translucent red fruits that grosbeaks and cedar wax wings especially like, and nannyberry has quite large blue-black fruits. Either shrub often attracts cardinals if there are any in the area. Avoid European cranberrybush as birds don't eat the berries.

Although they are attractive to birds, some trees and shrubs tend to become weedy and invasive. Tar-tarian honeysuckle, multiflora rose, buckthorn and autumnolive should be closely controlled. Mulberry is very attractive to birds like robins but the ripe fruits, messy purplish bird droppings and its weedy nature generally make it a tree to avoid.