How To Design A Bird Friendly Garden
The habitat you provide will have a significant impact on the bird population in your yard. Adding bird houses or nesting boxes, bird feeders and bird baths will attract birds to your yard. The variety of plant materials you choose will also affect the quantity and type of birds that will frequent your yard.
Birds choose environments that meet their three basic needs: food, water and shelter. Plant materials provide shelter, nesting sites, protection from predictors and of course food sources.
To attract birds to your gardens try to have at least some of the following in your garden design:
- conifers for nesting and cover
- deciduous trees for nesting and cover
- nectar-producing shrubs
- berry and nut producing trees and shrubs
In choosing berry and nut producing trees and shrubs, remember to provide a variety of summer and fall producing varieties and those that provide persistent fruit over the winter. Below is a list of the many variety of fruit or berry producing plants in our bird-friendly landscape.
American Finch On Bird Feeder In The Bird Sanctuary Garden
In my gardens, both in and around the Bird Sanctuary Garden I have many berry producing shrubs many of which are native species.
Viburnum species
- fall fruiting, some winter persistent berries
- attracts robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, finches, waxwings
- provides nesting sights, cover
- remember some varieties require a special pollinator in order to produce fruit
- Viburnum trilobum (highbush cranberry) is a good native variety
Cornus species
- fall fruiting, some winter persistent berries
- attracts robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, vireos, kingbirds, juncos, cardinals, warblers, wild turkey, grouse, others
- provides nesting sights, cover
- Cornus racemosa (grey dogwood), Cornus alternifolia (Pagoda dogwood), Cornus florida (Flowering dogwood) and cornus alba and cornus sericea (redosier dogwood) are all good native varieties
Ilex verticillata (Winterberry)
- fall fruiting, some winter persistent berries
- native plant
- attracts robins, bluebirds, waxwings
- provides nesting sights, cover
- red berries born on female plant only, needs male pollinator
Aronia species
- fall fruiting, some winter persistent berries
- Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry) and aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) are both native shrubs
- provides nesting sights, cover
Amelanchier species
- fall fruiting, winter persistent berries
- several native varieties including amelanchier alnifolia (saskatoon berry), amelanchier canadensis (shadblow or serviceberry)
- provides nesting sights, cover
Rhus Typhina (Staghorn Sumac)
- fall fruiting, winter persistent berries
- attracts tree swallows (especially wintering), catbirds, bluebirds
- provides nesting sights, cover
Prunus species (cherry)
- late summer and fall fruiting
- Prunus virginiana (black chokecherry) and prunus serotina (black cherry) are both native plants varieties in my garden
- provides nesting sights, cover
Berberis (Barberry)
- fall fruiting, winter persistent berries
- not a native plant but some varieties do produce fruit and are bird friendly
- provides nesting sights, cover
Euonymus alatus 'Campactus' (Dwarf Burning Bush)
- fall fruiting, winter persistent berries
- provides nesting sights, cover