As the garden catalogs fill your mailbox, and you start making plans for your yard and garden next year, don't forget about the birds. Gardens are outdoor sanctuaries for birds, insects, and other wildlife and every spring, migrating birds visit yards looking for nourishment and protection to raise their young. Birdscaping is the intentional effort to provide a natural setting to attract wildlife, especially birds, to an area, most typically your own backyard.
Most landscaping plants in nurseries are exotic species that are prized for qualities that make them poor food sources for wildlife. Some can even become invasive. By adding native plants to your yard, balcony, garden, or rooftop, you can help birds in the face of climate change, urban development, and other threats.
There are many different ways you can provide a bird-friendly landscape. Here are some examples of plants you can use to attract different bird species:
Planting for birds and insects
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Attributes |
Attracts |
Annuals |
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impatiens |
blooms from summer to first frost; seeds, nectar |
bees and other pollinating insects, butterflies, nectar-eating birds (e.g., hummingbirds), birds that eat from seed heads (e.g., chickadees, goldfinches) and birds that eat fallen seeds (e.g., cardinals, native sparrows, House Wrens, robins) |
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marigolds |
pollen, seeds |
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sunflowers |
pollen, nectar, seeds |
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zinnias |
pollen, nectar, seeds |
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Native perennials |
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asters |
blooms in autumn; nectar, seeds |
bees and other pollinating insects, butterflies, nectar-eating birds (e.g., hummingbirds), birds that eat from seed heads (e.g., chickadees, goldfinches) and birds that eat fallen seeds (e.g., cardinals, native sparrows, House Wrens, robins) |
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bee balm |
nectar, seeds |
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butterfly weed |
blooms early spring; nectar |
larval insects, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds |
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cardinal flowers |
nectar |
hummingbirds, special favorite of cardinals |
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common milkweed |
nectar |
caterpillar larvae, butterflies (monarchs) |
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joe-pye weed |
pollen, nectar, seeds |
bees and other pollinating insects, butterflies |
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penstemon |
pollen, nectar, seeds |
bumblebee and other pollinating insects, hummingbirds |
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purple coneflowers |
pollen, nectar, seeds |
butterflies, birds that eat from seed heads (e.g., chickadees, goldfinches) |
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rudbeckia |
pollen, seeds |
bees and other pollinating insects, butterflies |
Shrubs/Bushes |
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American highbush cranberry |
shade tolerant; berries persist through winter |
berry-eating birds (e.g., American Robin, Cedar Waxwing) |
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serviceberry |
flowers April–June, fruits in summer |
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Trees |
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black cherry |
native; fruit, cover |
attracts 429 species of larval insects, attracts birds that eat larval insects (e.g. orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, warblers, woodpeckers), fruit-eating birds like Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles, year-round birds like cardinals and chickadees; wilted leaves and twigs are poisonous to livestock |
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bur oak, white oak |
native; acorns, nesting sites |
attracts 518 species of larval insects, attracts birds that eat larval insects, acorns attract Blue Jays, turkeys, grouse, Wood Ducks |
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crab apple |
nectar, fruit |
attracts birds that eat fruit, berries and nectar |
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hackberry |
native; berries |
attracts 41 larval insects, attracts birds that eat larval insects |
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mountain ash |
some varieties native; berries, cover |
berry-eating birds, a favorite of Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Ruffed Grouse |
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northern white cedar |
dense cover, nesting sites |
a favorite nesting site for Northern Cardinals |
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spruces |
year-round cover, nesting sites, cones produce seeds |
attracts birds that eat seeds from cones: Blue Jays, chickadees, nuthatches, crossbills; another favorite nesting site for Northern Cardinals |
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white pine |
insect habitat, year-round cover, cones produce seeds |
attracts 191 larval insects, attracts birds that eat larval insects, Pine Grosbeaks |
For more information about native plants that attract birds, visit The Audubon Society’s native plant database.