Does it seem like most of the birds in your yard are crows and house sparrows? Let’s explore how to attract the birds you’d really love to see!
Landscape Management for attracting birds
Dead Trees: If a tree dies on your property and it’s not a danger, consider leaving it standing. It can become a home for birds that nest in cavities, like woodpeckers, chickadees, and tufted titmice. It’s also a great place for birds to forage for insects.
Brush Piles: Leaving a brush pile in an out-of-the-way place provides birds a safe spot to hide and forage for bugs.
Leaf Piles: A shallow pile of leaves on the edge of your yard or in garden beds can attract
caterpillars of the Cecropia moth, which is fascinating to watch emerge from its cocoon.
Praying Mantis Egg Cases: Praying mantises lay their eggs inside a foamy sack on twigs in your garden. In spring, you might witness the young warriors emerge! Tufted titmice may snack on the emerging mantises, though!
Plant Diversity = Bird Diversity
Planting a variety of native plants in your yard attracts a diversity of birds. Bringing Nature
Home by Doug Tallamy is a great resource to learn about native plants that support native
birds. The better our habitats, the stronger our native bird populations, and the more we can
support migratory birds as well.
Birds Need Four Main Things to Thrive:
Food: Native plants, insects, or feeders.
Water: A lake or river is ideal, but a bird bath or water fountain works too. Ensure it’s clean and has circulating water.
Shelter: Overstory trees (upper canopy) provide nesting spots and attract nutritious caterpillars. Evergreens offer cover and protection.
Safe Places to Raise Young: Keep cats indoors or supervised, as they are the top
killer of birds in the U.S.
Specific Trees and Their Benefits for Attracting Birds:
Red Maples: Can host 285 species of caterpillars.
Oak trees: Can host up to 534 species of caterpillars. Mice eat acorns which in turn support local raptors.
Sweetgum Trees: Survive in swamps and flood plains, hosting 30 species of caterpillars that attract a variety of birds.
Evergreens: Eastern red cedar attracts up to 80 species of birds.
Deciduous Trees: Hummingbirds nest on descending branches of trees like oak, hornbeam, birch, poplar, or hackberry.
American Holly: Supports both native and migratory birds, like American robins and cedar waxwings.
Specific Birds and Their Preferences:
Hummingbirds: Enjoy nectar from honeysuckle, bee balm, and jewelweed, and also eat small insects and spiders.
White-breasted Nuthatches: Attracted to pitch pines.
Pine Warblers: Nest in pine trees and forage for caterpillars and insects.
Pine Siskins: Forage on pine, alder, willows, elms, maples, and goldenrod.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers: Have long, sticky tongues for retrieving insects from trees.
Ground-Nesting Birds: Eastern towhees and northern flickers nest on the ground or in low shrubs.
Decomposing Logs: Provide food sources for birds from organisms found within.
Perennials for Seed: Coneflowers, thistles, sunflowers, and grasses are great perennials that provide seeds enjoyed by native birds.
By incorporating these strategies into your yard, you can create a vibrant habitat that attracts
the birds you truly want to see.
*Information from Becky Laboy, M.Ed.
Education Outreach Specialist
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