It takes more than a feeder and a birdbath to make your yard truly bird friendly. Birds need a complete habitat that provides food, shelter, nesting areas, and singing posts from which to defend their territories.
Factors to Consider When Attracting Birds
A Bird Pantry
Birds get their food not only from the fruits of plants but from their buds, flowers, and nectar. You may want to select plants that provide food in each of these ways.
Select plants to provide food for birds in every season. Fruits ripen in different seasons. Plants with spring-ripening fruits that feed new parent birds include serviceberries, wild cherries, and mulberries. In fall, migrating birds look for the fatty, ripening fruits of spicebush, magnolia, sassafras, and flowering dogwood. Other plants bear fruits that persist through the winter providing an important source of nutrients when the ground is covered with snow. These plants include nannyberry, sumac, hawthorn, and crabapple.
Not all berries are consumed by all bird species. In some cases, fruits may be too large for a bird to swallow. Use a diversity of plant species to attract more birds.
Concentrate on Native Plants
Emphasize native trees, shrubs, and vines. Native plants and birds have evolved side-by-side over thousands of years. Native plants are more likely to provide the right mix, size, and nutritional values that birds in our area require.
By incorporating native habitats into our landscapes, we create natural corridors for birds to pass back and forth through their natural ranges. This is especially important for areas that have been impacted by development.
Avoid exotic, invasive species. Some exotic species, like buckthorn or Japanese honeysuckle, provide abundant fruit for birds; however, they tend to crowd out native species over time, robbing birds and other animals of the diverse mix of plants needed for food and shelter.
Take a Cue From Nature
Plant in drifts. If you look to nature, you’ll discover that in the wild, plants usually occur in groups. This promotes cross-pollination, boosts fertility (and, therefore, fruit yield), and makes it easier for migrating birds to spot ripening fruits.
Consider vertical layers. Natural areas tend to have vertical layers, each attracting and providing something important to different bird species. Some birds prefer the canopy of tall trees. Others perch in the understory trees. Many build nests in shrubs, while still others find shelter and nesting materials in vines and ground covers. Try to create as many of these layers as possible in your backyard bird refuge.
Plant at least one grouping of conifers. These plants provide year-round windbreaks, shelter, and nesting sites.
Leave a dead tree or some dead branches on living trees. As long as the branches or tree aren’t in danger of falling on people, buildings, or power lines, these make excellent perches and singing posts for birds. Many birds also like to nest in the cavities of dead trees or branches.
*Indicates native to the Midwest
**Genus contains some native and some non-native species
Large Deciduous Trees (over 30 feet tall)
Botanical / Common Name: Plant Appeal
Acer species** / maple: Seeds that ripen in fall, often persisting into winter; buds; sap; insects on foliage; nesting site
Betula nigra* / river birch: Seeds; flower buds; insects on foliage
Celtis occidentalis* / common hackberry: Fruits ripen in late summer, often persisting through winter; nesting site; shelter
Larix decidua / European larch: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Prunus maackii / amur cherry: Fruits ripen in August
Prunus serotina* / wild black cherry: Fruits ripen in August-September.
Quercus species** / oak: Acorns; insects; shelter; nesting site
Taxodium distichum* / bald cypress: Seeds; shelter
Tilia americana* / American linden: Seeds; shelter
Ulmus species / elm: Flowers; seeds; shelter
Small Deciduous Ornamental Trees (15-25 feet tall)
Botanical / Common Name: Plant Appeal
Amelanchier species* / serviceberry: Fruits available June to August
Carpinus caroliniana* / American hornbeam: Nutlets; shelter
Cornus alternifolia* / pagoda dogwood: Fruits ripen in July-August and do not persist long.
Cornus mas / cornelian-cherry dogwood: Fruits ripen in July.
Crataegus species** / hawthorn: Fruits ripen in fall and persist until spring; insects on foliage; winter
Malus species** / flowering crabapple: Fruit; nesting site
Ostrya virginiana* / ironwood, hop-hornbeam: Seeds; shelter
Prunus virginiana* / common chokecherry: Fruits; flower buds
Sorbus aucuparia / European mountain ash: Fruit ripens in late August into September, usually eaten by birds before winter
Syringa reticulata / Japanese tree lilac: Seeds
Evergreens
Botanical / Common Name: Plant Appeal
Juniperus species** / juniper: Fruit; shelter; nesting site
Picea abies / Norway spruce: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Picea glauca / white spruce: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Pinus strobus* / white pine: Cones on trees 10+ years old; shelter; nesting site
Taxus cuspidata / Japanese yew: Fruit ripens in August-November; nesting site; shelter
Thuja occidentalis* / eastern arborvitae: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Thuja plicata / western arborvitae: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Tsuga canadensis / eastern hemlock: Cones; shelter; nesting site
Large Deciduous Shrubs (over 8 feet tall)
Botanical / Common Name: Plant Appeal
Cephalanthus occidentalis* / button bush: Nutlets persist through winter
Cornus racemosa* / gray dogwood: Fruit ripens July through October and persist into early winter; shelter; nesting site
Cotoneaster multiflora / showy cotoneaster: Fruit; shelter
Euonymus atropurpureus* / wahoo: Seeds
Hamamelis vernalis / vernal witch-hazel: Seeds released in September-October
Hamamelis virginiana* / common witch-hazel: Seeds
Ilex decidua* / possum-haw: Fruit matures in autumn and persists through winter; nesting site
Rhus glabra* / smooth sumac: Fruit ripens in later summer and persists into winter; shelter
Rhus typhina* / staghorn sumac: Fruit ripens in August –September and persists into spring; shelter
Sambucus canadensis* / common elderberry: Fruit ripens July-September; nesting site
Viburnum dentatum* / arrowwood viburnum: Fruit ripens late August-November; cover; nesting
Viburnum lentago* / nannyberry viburnum: Fruit ripens September-October, often persisting into December; nesting; cover
Viburnum prunifolium* / black-haw viburnum: Fruit ripens in early fall; nesting site; shelter
Viburnum opulus var. americanum* / American cranberrybush wiburnum: Fruit ripens in early September and persists through February
Intermediate Deciduous Shrubs (5-8 feet tall)
Botanical / Common Names: Plant Appeal
Aronia arbutifolia* / red chokeberry: Fruit ripens September-November and persists into January
Berberis koreana / Korean barberry: Berries ripen in fall and persist into winter; shelter
Clethra alnifolia / summersweet clethra: Seeds persist through winter
Cornus sericea* / red-osier dogwood: Fruit ripens in summer; shelter
Corylus americana* / American hazelnut: Seeds mature September-October
Hibiscus syriacus / Rose-of-Sharon: Seeds persist through winter
Ilex verticillata* / common winterberry: Fruits ripen in fall and persist into winter
Lindera benzoin* / spicebush: High fat content fruits ripen July-October and are quickly eaten by birds
Myrica pensylvanica / bayberry: Fruits persist into winter; shelter
Low-Growing Deciduous Shrubs (under 5 feet tall)
Botanical/Common Name: Plant Appeal
Amorpha canescens* / leadplant: Seeds persist into winter
Cotoneaster horizontalis / rock cotoneaster: Fruits ripen August-September
Hypericum prolificum* / shrubby St. John’s wort: Seeds persist all winter
Rhus aromatica* / fragrant sumac: Berries ripen August-September and may persist into winter although they usually lose their bird-attracting color
Ribes alpinum / alpine currant: Fruits ripen in June-July on female plants
Rosa rugosa / rugosa rose: Fruit ripens in August, often persisting into winter
Rubus allegheniensis* / wild blackberry: Berries ripen from late August into fall
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus* / coralberry: Berries ripen in October, persisting late into winter