landscape plants that attract birds (g1609) -...

G1609

LANDSCAPE PLANTS THATLANDSCAPE PLANTS THATATTRACT BIRDSATTRACT BIRDS

SCOTT R. CRAVEN AND ROBERT ELLARSON

"Hummingbird" by Owen J. Gromme, courtesy of Wild Wing Gallery, Lake City, Minn.

L A N D S C A P E P L A N T S

T H A T A T T R A C T B I R D S / 1

I nterest in songbirds grows every year. Bird feedingis perhaps the most popular wildlife-related activityin the country. Most of us enjoy seeing and hearing

birds, and birdwatching is a fascinating year-roundhobby for many people. A 1980 report on noncon-sumptive uses of wildlife conducted by the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service revealed that 33 percent ofAmericans–about 56 million people–took special in-terest in wildlife near their homes. About 6 percentmaintained natural areas for wildlife and 7.3 percent–about 12.5 million–maintained plantings for wildlife, thesubject of this bulletin. In all cases, people wereprimarily interested in songbirds.

The bright flashes of color, the distinctive songs, the lifebirds add to the landscape, and the opportunity youhave to observe their interesting habits make spendingtime and effort to encourage their presence well worthwhile.

bleak and snowy scene. Landscape plants can help at-tract birds throughout the year Winter bird feeders alsoenhance your yard’s attractiveness.

Landscape plantings make home grounds attractive tobirds in several ways. Plants furnish year-round shelterand protection from predators. They provide safenesting sites and rearing places for young birds. And,they supply food in the form of fruit, seeds, and nectarBirds also find plantings convenient and attractiveplaces to hunt for insects. Landscape plantings canbenefit birds and still follow basic principles of land-scape design. Other benefits include fall foliage color,spring flowers, privacy, and edible fruits and nuts.

LIVING REQUIREMENTSIf you give some thought to landscape planning and Different birds require different habitats. For example,

planting your home grounds, you can greatly increase the flicker, northern (Baltimore) oriole, and chipping

the chance that birds will nest in your yard. A delightful sparrow need just a few large trees to make an area

thing about birds is the seemingly capricious way they suitable for them. Some, like the red-eyed vireo, wood

select homesites. You can never predict exactly where a thrush, and wood pewee need a dense stand of many

bird will build its nest, so it’s a pleasure when they large trees. Others, like the catbird, are satisfied with

choose your yard. shrubs alone.

About 330 species of birds migrate through or stay inWisconsin. Of these, 12 or 15 songbird species com-monly nest in residential areas of cities and towns, and16 or 17 more build nests around rural homesites,

Besides these nesting birds, some migrant birds maystop for a day or two during their migration if they findyour yard attractive. Don’t forget about birds that stayover the winter. They add life and color to an otherwise

A few birds demand open spaces without trees and lit-tle or no shrubby vegetation. The house wren, treeswallow, robin, phoebe, and others nest in holes orcavities in trees, in nest boxes, or on platforms put upfor them. By creating the proper habitat, you can makevirtually any yard or garden attractive to some kind ofsongbird. Generally, the larger and more diverse youryard, the more birds and more different birds you willattract.

2 / L A N D S C A P E P L A N T S

WISCONSIN BIRDSBased on bird counts from several Wisconsin cities, thefollowing table shows the 15 most abundant breedingsongbirds and their habitat and nesting preferences.Your location in Wisconsin, of course, influences thepresence of some of these species.

House sparrows and starlings are almost always pres-ent: these two immigrants generally need no en-couragement. In fact, try to discourage their presenceto prevent their competing with more desirable nativespecies. Grackles and crows are frequently attracted tolarge evergreens and also aren’t always welcome.

The purple martin, screech owl, and chimney swift areoften present, but they need special nesting sites. Seepublication “G2091, Shelves, Houses and Feeders forBirds and Squirrels” for more information.

Hummingbirds have special needs. The ruby-throatedhummingbird is the only one that lives in Wisconsin.

These tiny, iridescent, incredibly fast birds are a favoritewith backyard wildlife enthusiasts. There are two ways toattract them. Hummingbird feeders filled with an instant“nectar” mix or a sugar-water solution (4 parts water to1 part sugar) attract them. So too, do a wide variety oforange, yellow and especially red, tubular flowers thathummingbirds favor. Flowers such as scarlet petunia,bee balm, scarlet salvia, scarlet runner beans, cardinalflower, and scarlet morning glory may be incorporatedinto flower beds. Shrubs such as trumpet honeysuckle,weigela, or trumpet creeper vine also attract thesebirds. Other plants are available and many seedcatalogs and nurseries note the relative attractiveness oftheir plants to hummingbirds.

Rural and suburban dwellers might expect to attract anyof the above mentioned birds if suitable habitat isavailable in their gardens or on their grounds. In addi-tion, the following birds might be expected in the lesspopulous areas.

GENERAL HABITAT & NESTING PREFERENCE – Most Abundant Species

Species Dense Trees Few Trees Shrubs Nest Box Nest Platform

Robin X X X

Grackle X

House wren X X

Mourning dove X X

Blue jay X X X

Catbird

Northern oriole

X

X X X

X X

X X

X

X X

X

x xx

X

Chipping sparrow

Flicker

Cardinal

Rose-breasted grosbeak

Goldfinch

Cedar waxwing

White-breasted nuthatch

Scarlet tanager


GENERAL HABITAT AND NESTING PREFERENCE – Less Common Species

Species Dense Trees Few Trees Shrubs Open Nest Box Nest Platform

Tree swallow X X

Bluebird X X

Warbling vireo X

Red-eyed vireo X

Brown thrasher X X

Yellow warbler X X

Indigo bunting X X

Wood pewee X

Song sparrow X X

Downy woodpecker X X

Crested flycatcher X X

Black-capped chickadee X X

Wood thrush X

Phoebe X X

Yellow-billed cuckoo X X

Red-headed woodpecker X X

Neither list includes all possible species-only the mostprobable ones. One pleasant aspect of wildlife is theuncertainty about which species choose your yard. Beon the lookout for unusual species that visit yourbackyard.

LANDSCAPING IDEASIn selecting trees, shrubs or vines, consider theirgeneral landscape value as well as the value for birds.You can meet both goals by selecting plants with goodfoliage. attractive flowers, fruits, interesting branches andtwigs, and a generally neat appearance. For example,redosier dogwood in conjunction with evergreensmakes an attractive winter scene.

You may want to enclose your backyard for privacy. Tobe interesting, the enclosure should vary somewhat in

shape. Wider-planted areas can furnish the densethickets some birds desire. The growth form and maturesize of trees and shrubs are important considerations.Don’t overcrowd your plantings.

Use low-branching shrubs next to the lawn, giving goodtransition from the grass to the shrub border These Iow-branching shrubs also help protect ground-nestingbirds.

A foundation planting of shrubs relates better to ahouse if there is a definite center of interest in line with awindow. A bird bath may provide this focal point. Keepit filled to provide water for birds. Place it in a recessedarea in the shrubbery where you can see it easily fromthe house, but not so close to the shrubs that cats canhide in them and stalk the birds. Also keep in mind thepotential location of winter feeders when planning yourplanting.


Remember that your surroundings are as important asyour yard. For example, a yard that adjoins a largewooded park or undeveloped land and a yard in themiddle of a new subdivision have very different poten-tials. In the first case you may want to make your yardcompatible with surrounding habitat while in the secondcase you may start from scratch to create the habitatyou choose.

PLANTS FOR BIRDSYou may select from many plant varieties for your homegrounds. Every landscape planting needs at least a fewconifers (evergreens) if it is to have maximum value forsongbirds. Spruce, arborvitae (white cedar), junipers,yew, pines, and firs provide excellent nesting cover andwinter shelter. Conifers also make excellent windbreaksfor birdfeeders during winter.

The different serviceberries or juneberries make attrac-tive small trees or shrubs. They bear abundant ediblefruit in early summer and many berry-eating birds likethem.

Most dogwoods adapt well to home grounds, andmany bird species eat their fruits. The gray dogwood isan excellent shrub for home grounds planting andbears an abundant crop of white fruits. The redosierdogwood, which likes moist soil, is a good backgroundplant for a pool. It has bright red twigs in winter, and itswhite fruit catches the eye of birds.

Many people rank hawthorns or thornapples as thebest small trees for landscaping with one-story houses.Some variety’s fruits drop in early fall, but those of thecockspur hawthorn and Washington hawthorn are re-tained all winter long. These trees provide excellentnesting cover for many songbirds and, because of theirthorny stems, are quite cat-proof.

The American elder or common elderberry is a largeshrub which bears fruit very heavily. The plant may be abit coarse-textured for some home landscapes, but is agood shrub for large plantings. It has large, flat, attrac-tive clusters of white flowers in spring, followed by pur-ple to black fruit in late summer. Yellow warblers andgoldfinches frequently nest in these shrubs.

Although they are attractive to birds, some trees andshrubs tend to become weedy and invasive. Tartarianhoneysuckle, multiflora rose, buckthorn and autumnoliveshould be closely controlled. Mulberry is very attractiveto birds like robins but the ripe fruits, messy purplishbird droppings, and weedy nature generally make it atree to avoid.

For late fall and winter food, the American cranberry-bush viburnum and the nannyberry viburnum may beuseful. Both are excellent large shrubs for landscapeplantings. The American cranberrybush has beautifultranslucent red fruits, that grosbeaks and cedar wax-wings especially like, and nannyberry has quite largebluish fruits. Either shrub often attracts cardinals if thereare any in the area. Cranberrybush viburnum berriesusually remain untouched until late winter or earlyspring after they have frozen and thawed several times.Avoid European cranberrybush, whose berries birdsdon’t eat.

SOURCES OF MATERIALSMost nurseries and seed catalogs now recognize andpromote the values of certain plants for birds and otherwildlife. Staff people often can advise you on your bestchoices. In fact several nurseries in Wisconsin specializein food and cover plants for wildlife.

You may transplant many tree and shrub species from afriend’s rural property or from extra stock in a neighbor’syard. Remember, you must have the landowner’s per-mission to take plants. You may not remove plants frompublic lands.

Owners of large rural properties may qualify to buy aConservation Packet from the Department of NaturalResources. A packet contains several hundred youngtrees and shrubs at a nominal cost. You must use theseplants for conservation, not landscape purposes. Formore information, contact your county DNR forester.

The National Wildlife Federation offers a nationalrecognition program for individuals who developbackyard wildlife habitat. Many helpful materials areavailable in conjunction with the program; see the“Gardening with Wildlife Kit” mentioned below, or writeto the National Wildlife Federation for information on thebackyard program.


The following list of plants has been compiled primarily for Wisconsin home owners who want to have attractive plant-ings which also encourage birds. If you are interested in the design of home areas, publication G1923, Planning andDesigning Your Home Landscape, may be of help.

Food

Name Quality Season Cover Nesting Habitat Remarks

L A R G E T R E E S

Betula alleghaniensisYellow Birch

Good Late Winter Fair Fair Good soil Finches like it

Celtis occidentalisCommon Hackberry

Excel. Winter Fair Fair Alkaline soil Excellent shadetree. Many birdsuse berries.

Larix deciduaEuropean Larch*

Good Winter Fair Fair Sun, average Buds eaten; attrac-soil tive also because

of insects in foliage.

Picea glaucaWhite Spruce

Fair Winter Excel. Excel. Moist, richsoil

Evergreen. Notmuch food.

Pinus strobusEastern White Pine

Fair Winter Good Good Avg. condi-tions, sun

Evergreen. Notmuch food.

Prunus serotinaBlack Cherry

Excel. Fall Fair Fair Avg. condi-tions, sun

Liked by 35species of birds.Fast-growing,weak-wooded.

Tsuga canadensisCanada Hemlock

Good Winter Excel. Good Requires Evergreen. Fincheswinter shade in winter.

Quercus sp.Oak

Good-Excel.

Fall, Winter Fair Fair Variable Birds feed on in-sects the treesattract. Some birdsuse acorns. Attrac-tive shade trees.

MEDIUM-SIZE TREES

Betula papyriferaPaper Birch

Prunus pensylvanicaPin Cherry

Thuja occidentalisEastern Arborvitae

Fair

Excel.

Fair

Aug. -Sept.

Summer

Fair

Fair

Excel.

Fair

Fair

Excel.

Cool soils Rapidly growingornamental.

Average soil, Used by some 25sun species of birds.

Average, likes Evergreen.moisture

‘Not native to Wisconsin


Food


L O W - G R O W I N G T R E E S

Amelanchier sp.Serviceberry

Cornus alternifoliaPagoda Dogwood

Excel.

Excel.

Summer

Summerand Fall

Fair

Fair

Fair

Good

Average soil Many species ofand moisture birds use it.

Moist, cool Very ornamental,soil often used as a

shrub.

Crataegus crus-galliCockspur Hawthorn

Good Late fall Good Excel. Likes lime, Fruit hangs onand winter heavy soil, nearly all winter

and sun Many birds use it.

Crataegus succulentavar macracantha

Spike Hawthorn

Good Fall andwinter

Good Good Good soil Attractive shinyfoilage.

Crataegus phaenopyrum Good(cordata)

Washington Hawthorn*

Late fall Good Good Good soil, Smallest fruits ofand winter sun the hawthorns.

Crataegus punctataDotted Hawthorn

Good Fall andwinter

Good Good Good soil,sun

Horizontallybranched; flowershave strong odor

Juniperus virginianaEastern Redcedar

Excel. Winter Excel. Excel. Sun, light soil Should not begrown near applesor native crabsmany birds,especially wax-wings, use fruits.

Malus ‘Bob White’Bob White Crabapple*

Fair Winter Good Fair togood

Average con- Persistent tinyditions, sun yellow fruits.

Malus floribundaJapanese Flowering

Crabapple*


Average con- Not bothered byditions, sun apple rust.

Malus zumi calocarpaRedbud Crabapple*


Average con- Persistent tinyditions, sun bright red fruits.

Very attractive inwinter.

Prunus americanaAmerican Plum

Fair Fall Good Good Average soil,sun

Makes goodscreen, goodnesting cover.

Prunus virginianaCommon Chokecherry

Excel. Summer Fair Fair Light to good More than 70soil, sun species of birds eat

berries.

*Not native to Wisconsin


Food


Sorbus americanaAmerican Mountainash

Excel.,fruits well

Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Cool soil Robins and wax-wings like it.

Sorbus aucuparia Excel.,European Mountainash* fruits well

Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Cool soil Robins and wax-wings like it.

H I G H - G R O W I N G S H R U B S

Cornus amomumSilky Dogwood

Excel. Fall Fair Good Averagemoist soil

More than 80species of birds eatdogwood fruit.

Cornus masCorneliancherryDogwood*

Good Fall Fair Good Average soil Hardy in southernWisconsin only.

Cornus racemosa Excel.,Gray Dogwood fruits well

Fall Fair Fair Average con- Easily grown.ditions Attractive.

Cornus sericea(stolonifera)

Redosier Dogwood

Excel. Fall Fair Fair Moist con-ditions

Good winter twigcolor.

Rhus glabraSmooth Sumac

Rhus typhinaStaghorn Sumac

Fair

Fair

Winter

Winter

Fair

Fair

Fair

Fair

Average, sun Too open to makegood cover.

Indifferent, Too open to makesun good cover

Sambucus canadensisAmerican Elder

Excel.,largeamount

Late sum-mer andfall

Good Good Moist soilbest

Over 100 speciesknown to use it.Quantity of food ex-cellent.

Sambucus pubensScarlet Elder

Fair, largeamount

Summer Good Good Indifferent Not as palatable asAmerican elder.

Shepherdia argenteaSilver Buffaloberry*

Excel.,goodamount

Summer Good Good Dry soil, sun Difficult to usebecause of grayfoliage.

Viburnum dentatumArrowwood Viburnum*

Good Late sum-mer, earlyfall

Good Good Moist soil Fast growing

Viburnum lentagoNannyberry Viburnum

Good Late fall,winter

Good Good Moist soil Combines well withgray dogwood.Clusters of blackfruits.

Viburnum prunifoliumBlackhaw Viburnum

*Not native to Wisconsin.

Good Fall andwinter

Good Good Average Attractive fall color.


Name

Food

Quality Season Cover Nesting Habitat Remarks

Viburnum trilobumAmerican Cranberry-

bush Viburnum

Fair Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Moist soil Attractive in fruit.Cardinals like fruit.

Cephalanthusoccidentalis

Common Buttonbush

Fair Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Average soil, Sometimes a largemoist shrub.

MEDIUM-SIZED SHRUBS

Aronia arbutifoliaRed Chokeberry*

Good Fall Fair Fair Good, moist Height, 7 to 8 feet.soil

Aronia melanocarpaBlack Chokeberry

Good Fall Fair Fair Good, wet or Height, 5 to 6 feet.dry

Corylus americanaHazlenut

Good Late sum- Good Fair Average Nuts usually in-mer, Fall fested with insects

in the wild.

Ilex verticillataCommon Winterberry

Good Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Acid soil, wet Very attractive.areas

Rosa rugosaRugosa Rose*

Excel. Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Average soil, Attractive fruit, saltgood drain- tolerant.age, sun

Rubus allegheniensisAllegany Blackberry

Excel. Summerand fall

Fair Fair Average, sun Difficult to handlein average homeplanting.

SMALL SHRUBS

Berberis thunbergiiJapanese Barberry*

Fair Fall andwinter

Good Fair Average Does not blendwell into most birdplantings.

Juniperus communisdepressa

Oldfield CommonJuniper

Good Fall,Winterpersistent

Good Good Light, drysoil, sun

Good groundcover

Prunus pumilaSand Cherry

Fair Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Light, dry soil Attractive, lowshrub for dryareas.

Rhus aromaticaFragrant Sumac

Fair Winter Good Good Average todry, sun

Excellent bankcover.

Rosa blandaMeadow Rose

Good Winter Fair topoor

Fair Average, sun Good winter color.Attractive flowers.



Name

Rosa Carolina (humilis)Carolina Rose

Food

Quality Season Cover Nesting Habitat Remarks

Good Winter Fair Fair Indifferent as Good at edge ofto soil, moist pool or pond.to wet, sun

Rosa palustrisSwamp rose

Good Winter Fair Fair Indifferent as One of our moreto soil, moist common nativeto wet, sun roses.

Rose virginiana (lucida)Virginia Rose*

Good Winter Fair Fair togood

Average soil, Fruits remain color-average to ful into winter.moist, sun

Rubus idaeus (strigosus) Excel. Summer Poor Poor Indifferent Eaten by largeRed Raspberry and fall number of species.

Rubus occidentalis Excel. Summer Fair to Fair to Indifferent to Eaten by largeBlackcap Raspberry and fall poor poor soil, good number of species.

drainage

Symphoricarpos albuslaevigatus

Common Snowberry*

Fair Fall andwinter

Fair Fair Average todry

White fruit. Notgenerally held intowinter.

Symphoricarpos Good Winter Fair Fair Average to Excellent ground-orbiculatus dry cover plant.

Indiancurrant Coralberry*

V I N E S

Campsis radicansTrumpetvine*

Excel. Summer Fair Poor Average, sun Hummingbirds usenectar.

Celastrus scandensAmerican Bittersweet

Fair Winter Poor tofair

Poor Average, sun Needs sun to fruitwell.

Parthenocissusquinquefolia

Virginia Creeper


Fair Fair Average Englemann’s varie-ty of the Virginiacreeper, clings towalls.

Vitis labruscaFox grape


Good Fair indifferent Eaten by largenumbers of birds.Used on fencesand arbors.

Vitis ripariaRiverbank Grape


Good Fair Indifferent (same as above)

Vitis vulpinaFrost Grape


Good Fair Indifferent (same as above)


FOR MORE INFORMATIONLandscape Plants for Wisconsin. 1982. E.R.

Hasselkus. University of Wisconsin-Extension NO.A2865. 20pp.

Planning and Designing Your Home Landscape. 1981.D.A. Wilson, T.J. Wilson, and W.G. Tlusty. Universityof Wisconsin-Extension No. G1923. 34pp.

Shelves, Houses, and Feeders for Birds andSquirrels. 1982. G. Barquest. S. Craven. and R.Ellarson. University of Wisconsin-Extension No.G2091. 32pp.

Bird Feeding: Tips for Beginners and Veterans.1983. S.R. Craven and R.L. Ruff. University of Wis-consin-Extension No. G3176. 12pp.

Invite Birds to Your Home/Conservation Plantingsfor the Midwest 1971. USDA-Soil ConservationService. PA-982.

Gardening with Wildlife Kit, 1986. National WildlifeFederation, 1412 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington,D.C. 20036. (This kit contains numerous publica-

tions, planting guides, seeds, references, informa-tion on the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program,and many other useful items. $16.95 + $2 ship-ping charge. Note: The resource list "Where toDig" is especially useful.)

American Wildlife and Plants–A Guide to WildlifeFood Habits. 1961. A.C. Martin, H.S. Zim, and A.L.Nelson. Dover Publications, New York, N.Y. 500pp.$3.95. Original version 1951, McGraw-Hill Inc., N.Y.

Check with your local county Extension office forprices of University of Wisconsin-Extensionpublications.

Consult any of several good field guides, the Wiscon-sin DNR-Bureau of Endangered Resources, Wiscon-sin county Extension offices, magazines such as‘Audubon” or “National Wildlife” and any goodbookstore nature section for more information.

Author: Scott R. Craven is a professor of wildlife ecology with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, and a wildlife specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension.Horticulturist Edward R. Hasselkus reviewed this publication and made many helpful suggestions. Hasselkus is aprofessor of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S.Department of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension. University ofWisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADArequirements. If you need this information in an alternative format, contact the UWEX Affirmative Action Office orExtension Publications at (608)262-2655.

This publication is available from your Wisconsin county Extension office or from Extension Publications,Rm. 245, 30 N. Murray St., Madison, WI 53715, (608)262-3346.

G1609 Landscape Plants that Attract Birds RP-02-94-4M-185-S

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