 Fall is a perfect time to add some bird-friendly plantings, since many are woody plants, and also to provide for the most important thing off all: water. Big surprise–it’s all about keeping them fed, watered and sheltered in every season. Here are the essentials: EDGE HABITAT, the place where field meets woods, for instance, is where the action is for many birds: a place to hide, and for some species even to nest, an often food-rich jumble of shrubbery and vines. Think hedgerow; I use a lot of winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) as a backbone of all such islands here. Add a transitional zone somewhere in your garden, perhaps along the road or another boundary, or create an island shrub border of bird-friendly plants (ideas below). Mix it up (thorns, evergreen, vines, fruit, seedheads, nectar-rich flowers) to make a multi-season destination. A BRUSHPILE in some out-of-the-way corner is another great hiding place, especially in harshest weather, though perhaps impractical for the small garden. EVERGREEN COVER is an aesthetic and wildlife-friendly element of any garden, providing shelter from weather, nesting sites, plus seed-rich cones or other fruits, such as those of the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), for which the beautiful Cedar waxwing that feasts on it is named. Spruce (Picea species) and firs (Abies, such as the blue A. concolor behind the pear and crabapples) also seem to get a lot of bird action here in particular; desirable species of all foods will vary by region and bird populations. NEST BOXES are a great addition to the garden, especially where there are no big old trees, since cavity-nesting species like Eastern bluebirds or tree swallows won’t build a nest on a shelf (like flycatchers will) or in a brushy thicket (like some sparrows). Think about whether you have all three kinds of nesting places to attract a diversity of birds looking for a place to raise a family. A CHEMICAL-FREE ENVIRONMENT is essential; birds (like frogs and snakes, among others) are canaries in a coal mine (sorry) for toxic elements, and their favorite foods are even more vulnerable. Don’t taint the habitat you create; get off the lawncare regimen and see a vast increase in worms and other soil life, the favorite food of robins and flickers, among others. Bugs are birdfood; most birds are at least partly insectivorous, so obsessive anti-bug campaigns impact the quality of your habitat. Use least-toxic methods like your hose-end sprayer, hand-picking, row covers, or soaps and oils to thwart the ones you must, but not chemical insecticides. Ditto with lethal herbicides and fungicides, of course. CLEAN FEEDERS, IF YOU OFFER SEED: Thoroughly clean and sterilize your feeders regularly with a dilute bleach solution (1:10 bleach to water) or just hot, soapy water to prevent disease. Even a 12-month birdfeeder (many people feed only in winter) is no substitute for food-rich habitat; in a successful wildlife garden, birds will come year-round even when there are no feeders, though feeders will bring them closer to the house, where you can see them (as will that Number 1 item up top, water). THE RIGHT DIVERSITY OF LIVING FOODS: Plan the landscape for a combination of seeds (such as from grasses, Composite or daisy-like flowers, fruiting plants, and conifers); fruits for each season, including not just the sugary, watery ones of summer, but some high-lipid ones that hang on as hollies do into into winter. Large numbers of native plants, even in a garden like mine that includes many non-natives like the Kousa dogwood and its fruit, prove highly appealing; go heavy on them. Nectar-loving hummingbirds will appreciate trumpetvine (Campsis radicans), honeysuckles (Lonicera species), and flowering sages (Salvia species), among others. And remember: Most everyone wants insects for supper, so discriminate in your bug-killing, please. My garden’s top bird-attracting plants from a food standpoint (by no means a complete list, and varies widely by region): Trees and Shrubs Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis, also great for jelly and jam; I grow these); Blueberry and raspberry (Vaccinium and Rubus species; plant extra for birds); Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia and A. melanocarpa); Dogwoods (especially Cornus florida; C. mas, also some twig species, C. alternifolia and C. kousa); Oaks (for their acorns, attractive to some woodpeckers, jays and grouse); Spicebush (Lindera benzoin, for fruit); Viburnum species (couldn’t garden without these); Crabapple (Malus varieties, such as ‘Ralph Shay,’ top photo); Apple and Pear (orioles like the blossoms; many birds peck at the fruit and its seeds, even when mummified in winter); Sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Laciniata,’ the cutleaf staghorn, and others for their fruit); Hollies (Ilex verticillata, or winterberry, and others); Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana, for fruits and shelter); Spruces (Picea species, for seed-rich cones, shelter, nesting); Firs (Abies concolor and A. koreana; cones, shelter, nesting); Shadbush (Amelanchier, summer fruit); Spikenard (Aralia spinosa, and A. cordata and racemosa, for fall fruit). Vines Honeysuckles (Lonicera sempervirens and others); Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia; long-lasting fruit; not showy, but eaten by vast number of birds); Grape (I let wild vines remain at the woodland edge here, or cultivate an arbor). NO MARAUDING CATS is what birds like most of all. In the residential environment, cats are a top cause of death for songbirds (with fatal crashes into windows the top killer). Estimates for the number of songbirds killed annually by feral and domestic cats range from a few hundred million to one billion. Keep your cat in during the daytime in particular, and especially during nesting season. |
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