Attract Birds Using Native Plants

Gardening for wildlife is one of the most rewarding ways to connect with nature at home. By planting with birds in mind, your yard can become a lively, ever-changing ecosystem—filled with song, color, and movement throughout the seasons. Native plants are the foundation of a successful bird-friendly garden.

Why Native Plants Matter

Native plants evolved alongside local birds, insects, and other wildlife. Because of this shared history, they provide the right food, shelter, and ecological support that birds need to survive and reproduce.

Unlike many non-native ornamentals, native plants:

• Support abundant insect life (critical bird food)

• Produce fruits, seeds, and nuts timed to birds’ seasonal needs

• Offer appropriate nesting and shelter opportunities

As ecologist Douglas Tallamy explains in Bringing Nature Home, (and Nature's Best Hope) most North American birds depend on insects—especially to raise their young—and native plants host far more insects than non-natives.

What Birds Need to Thrive

Food: A Garden with Something for Every Beak

A diverse planting supports birds with different diets and foraging styles.

Insects & Spiders

Most terrestrial birds eat insects, and nearly all feed insects to their chicks. Native plants dramatically outperform non-natives in supporting caterpillars, beetles, and spiders.

Summer-Fruiting Trees & Shrubs

Sweet fruits ripening from late spring through summer fuel breeding birds:

• Serviceberry (juneberry)

• Wild cherry

• Red mulberry

• Elderberry

• Blackberry, raspberry, blueberry

Fall-Fruiting Trees, Shrubs & Vines

High-fat fruits help birds prepare for migration and winter:

• Dogwood

• Magnolia

• Sassafras

• Black gum

• Spicebush

• Viburnum

• Wild grape

Winter to Early Spring Fruits

Persistent fruits provide critical cold-season nutrition:

• Chokeberry

• Sumac

• Virginia creeper

• American bittersweet

• Rose hips

• Hawthorn

• Bayberry

• Hackberry

• Snowberry

• American holly, inkberry holly, winterberry holly

• Eastern red cedar (a juniper) also supplies fleshy cones prized by winter birds.

Acorns & Nuts

Nut-bearing trees are wildlife powerhouses:

• Oaks, hickories, hazels

  Woodpeckers, jays, crows, turkeys, and many smaller birds rely on these.

• Smaller nuts from American beech and hornbeam are especially accessible.

Seeds

Many native grasses, perennials, and shrubs provide seed well into winter—if left standing.

Water: Essential All Year

Birds need water for drinking, bathing, and cooling off—even in winter.

• Shallow pools and puddles are preferred

• Moving or dripping water is especially attractive

• Garden ponds should include shallow “beach” areas made with gravel, rocks, or logs so wildlife can enter and exit safely

• Adding fish can help control mosquito larvae

Cover, Nesting Sites & Space

Birds rely on vegetation for protection, rest, and nesting.

Trees, Shrubs & Vines

These provide shelter from predators and harsh weather, as well as nesting sites.

Hedgerows & Landscape Corridors

Dense plantings that mix trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants create prime bird habitat and help connect isolated natural areas.

Mature & Dead Trees (Snags)

Standing dead trees and decaying limbs host insects and provide nesting cavities—especially important for woodpeckers and other cavity nesters.

Space Matters

Some birds require large, undisturbed territories, while others adapt well to suburban gardens. Planting diversity helps support a wider range of species.

Downy Woodpecker

Practical Tips for Bird-Friendly Gardening

• Avoid pesticides whenever possible – They can poison birds directly or through their insect prey.

• Reduce lawn area – Turf grass offers little food or shelter. Replace it with native plantings.

• Plant in layers – Mimic natural ecosystems with a canopy, understory, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and vines.

• Practice eco-friendly cleanup – Leave seed heads and stems standing through winter; compost leaves and debris.

• Keep cats indoors – Free-roaming cats kill billions of birds each year.

• Manage deer responsibly – Overbrowsing destroys understory habitat critical to nesting birds.

• Remove invasive plants – Replace them with native alternatives suited to your region.

• Reduce window collisions – Turn off unnecessary night lighting, make glass less reflective, and place feeders away from windows.

• Create brush piles – Fallen branches provide cover, insects, and nesting material (place away from roads and damp areas).

  
  

A Garden That Gives Back

By choosing native plants and gardening with intention, you create more than a beautiful landscape—you build a living refuge. In return, birds bring natural pest control, seasonal beauty, and the simple joy of watching wildlife thrive right outside your door.

A garden grown for birds is a garden grown for life.