Landscape Plants that Attract Birds (G1609) -...
Transcript of 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.
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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
T H A T A T T R A C T B I R D S / 3
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.
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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.
T H A T A T T R A C T B I R D S / 5
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
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Food
Name Quality Season Cover Nesting Habitat Remarks
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*
Fair Winter Good Fair togood
Average con- Not bothered byditions, sun apple rust.
Malus zumi calocarpaRedbud Crabapple*
Fair Winter Good Fair togood
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
T H A T A T T R A C T B I R D S / 7
Food
Name Quality Season Cover Nesting Habitat Remarks
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.
8 / L A N D S C A P E P L A N T S
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.
*Not native to Wisconsin
T H A T A T T R A C T B I R D S / 9
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
Excel. Fall andwinter
Fair Fair Average Englemann’s varie-ty of the Virginiacreeper, clings towalls.
Vitis labruscaFox grape
Excel. Fall andwinter
Good Fair indifferent Eaten by largenumbers of birds.Used on fencesand arbors.
Vitis ripariaRiverbank Grape
Excel. Fall andwinter
Good Fair Indifferent (same as above)
Vitis vulpinaFrost Grape
Excel. Fall andwinter
Good Fair Indifferent (same as above)
*Not native to Wisconsin
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