What are Some Good Plants for Birds?

To attract birds, combine a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers that will provide nesting areas and winter shelter, as well as year-round food and locations for birds to hide from predators. Plants for birds include those that provide the fruits, berries, grains, seeds, acorns, nuts, or nectar that birds need. Some evergreens -- such as pines, spruces, firs, junipers and others -- provide sap, buds, and seeds. Other evergreens produce berries and seed-filled cones that attract birds.

Nectar-producing plants attract hummingbirds and orioles. Plants for birds also include oaks, hickories, buckeyes, chestnuts, butternuts, walnuts, and hazels because they provide nuts and acorns that are attractive to some birds. Other good plants for birds include berry producing shrubs and ground covers.

Plants that lose their leaves in the winter usually provide the best food source potential and also offer protective nesting areas in the leaf-bearing months. To attract birds that eat fruits or berries, provide cherry, honeysuckle, blackberry, elderberry, or similar plants. These summer-fruiting plants for birds will attract brown thrashers, cat birds, robins, thrushes, woodpeckers, cardinals, and other birds.

For fall, include shrubs and vines such as dogwoods, mountain ash, and winterberries to provide nutrition for both migratory birds traveling through and non-migratory birds that need energy for the winter. Winter food sources to include in your yard include glossy black chokeberry, snowberry, American highbush cranberry, and chinaberry. Other plants for birds that produce fruits that survive in winter include Siberian and red splendor crabapple, bittersweet, sumacs, eastern and European wahoo, and Virginia creeper.

Seed-eating birds prefer that you allow your garden go to seed, as opposed to removing dead or wilted plants. By using plants for birds that are native to your region, you can be more assured of their survival, and birds will be more familiar with them also. It is also important to provide a water source, whether it's a pond, water garden, or bird bath. For shelter, include tall grasses, hollow trees, shrubs, and bird houses.

Because some birds -- including tree swallows, house wrens, brown thrashers, and orioles -- eat insects, consider creating a natural woodland atmosphere in part of your yard. Fallen leaves, a brush pile, or dead trees can provide insect diets for birds that forage the ground for food. These areas will also provide nesting sites for birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees. Some birds, like tree swallows and house wrens, will also control insects for you.

Keep in mind that some birds like border plants. Good plants for birds like hummingbirds, phoebes, titmice, and orioles include lush plants that have berries, seeds, and insects placed along the borders of a yard or driveway. Birds and butterflies also are attracted to brightly colored flowers and fruits.

It is wise to create a multi-season plan to include good plants for birds in your yard. Protect the birds you attract by cautiously using herbicides and pesticides. Read the labels carefully and apply only when necessary. Also protect the birds you attract from domestic cats.